One Man’s Trash Is Another’s Treasure
by GuardianArtemis
Summary: After Summer Rose’s demise, Taiyang and Qrow were always drunk and Yang was barely around, leaving Ruby on her own. Six years ago Ruby Rose ran away, got caught up in a robbery, and became a criminal known to most as “Red”.
1. Prologue

Prologue 1

_Six years ago..._

Ruby looked around the house one last time. The nine year old was done with her family and she finally decided she was running away. It all had happened only a year ago, and Ruby told herself they were just trying to cope. Her father and uncle would drink every moment they were awake. Her sister Yang would be anywhere on Remnant but in the house, and Ruby was left on her own with only Zwei.

The black and white corgi was watching her now with intelligent dark eyes. Zwei gave a short bark, snapping the girl out of her thoughts. Ruby looked at him, meeting his gaze. He walked closer, curiosity clear as he cocked his head and wagged his stubby tail.

Ruby broke their eye-contact to check over her filled backpack again. Water bottles, some granola bars, some lien that she stole from her dad and uncle's wallets. A few odds and ends, and at the bottom was a stuffed beowolf plushie that was named - quite appropriatly to Ruby at least - Beo. She zipped the backpack up again and crouched down to pat Zwei. The dog licked her hand, as if sensing she was leaving.

At Zwei's whine, Ruby exhaled a sigh. "I'm sorry, Zwei. I'm not really wanted here." She told the dog. Zwei's head and ears lowered as his tail went limp. It was true, recently her dad and uncle would yell at Ruby, stating that she reminded them too much of her mother and she'd be better off not in their lives. They also would say she was preventing them all from moving on.

Ruby stood up and turned her attention to the couch, where her dad was laying with an empty bottle on his chest. "You'll get your wish now, dad." Ruby told him. Her dad shifted and Ruby feared he'd wake up. Instead, he remained asleep. There would be no note, no letter, no explanation. Ruby wanted to vanish from the life she had, to start anew wherever she would eventually end up.

Hesitation seemed to fill her now. _Am I doing the right thing?_ She now found herself wondering. _No, don't be stupid. This is what's best. For both them and myself. _She steeled her nerve and walked out the door before closing it and going on her way.

Patch was quite calm, and Ruby was somewhat sad to know she couldn't come back - lest she be found out and get grounded for eternity for running away.

It was a long walk to the ferry that would lead Ruby to Vale city. There was a man checking tickets, and Ruby was able to meld into the crowd of people pouring through to make it in unnoticed. Sitting down by the back of the boat, she watched the ferry take off as Patch grew smaller and smaller in front of her.

It was a while before they arrived, and once again Ruby melded into the crowd until she reached the streets. Looking above her, she noticed that there was a dark stormcloud looming off to Ruby's left side. A storm was definitly brewing in the pregnant looking clouds.

Continuing to walk, Ruby heard a commotion go on to one side. She followed the noise out of curiosity and found a man with black hair and green eyes was yelling at another man, who was profusely apologizing. At the former's side was a raven haired girl with green eyes, and to Ruby's surprise her hand was reaching towards the latter's pocket. It was a moment before it withdrew with the man's wallet. Ruby continued watching as the girl, finished with the obvious pickpocketing, shifted her heel to step on the black-haired man's toe. As if it was a cue, the man burst into a theatric finale that would only be found on a comedy television show. Ruby inched closer and was able to pick up on it.

"Maybe get your eyes checked, sir! I hope you're sorely remorseful for bumping into my daughter, and may we never meet again!" He declared and took the girl's hand before speaking to her, "Come on dear, I'll get you some icecream." Before turning heel and walking away.

Against Ruby's better judgement, she decided she wanted to confront the dad and daughter as to why the daughter pickpocketed the man.

Thunder rolled in the sky, and Ruby could already tell without looking that the storm was almost here. Putting her hood up in case of the rain, she kept following the two until they vanished into an alleyway.

Walking after them, she heard the man speak again. "I know, Neo." There was a second of silence before he called out, "You can stop trying to be inconspicuous about following us, Red!" Making Ruby jump. She froze in place as a pair of people walked from the shadows of the alley walls. One was an orange-haired man with a white coat and a black hat with a feather in it. The second was a short girl with hair that was half pink and half brown, her eyes were brown and pale pink. "What on Remnant are you doing here kid? Lost?" The man asked, and Ruby realized he was the "father" of the girl.

"I'm not lost." Ruby told him "I wanted to ask why that girl stole that man's wallet."

The girl's eyes widened slightly, but she withdrew from a pocket the wallet she had stolen. "This?" The man asked, Ruby nodded in response. "Why we did it is none of your business." He responded flippantly, and the girl put the wallet back in her pocket. Now he reached in his coat pocket and withdrew a cigar, before groping around in his pocket until the girl withdrew a silver stylized lighter and waved it in his face. The man sighed "Neo! Stop stealing my lighter!" He snapped at her and snatched it from her hands before using it to light the cigar and took a puff. The woman tilted her head and the man rolled his eyes. "Anywho," The man continued "Maybe you should get going, there's a nasty storm coming." He told Ruby.

The girl next to the man started making hand movements and the man took a drag on his cigar while watching her. "You're kidding," he told the mute before looking at Ruby "Red. What's your name."

Ruby hesistated for a second, but eventually told him "Ruby. Ruby Rose." And to her surprise, both seemed shocked and even a bit scared.

The man cleared his throat quickly, "Ooookay. So Red, where are your parents?" He asked.

"My mom is dead. I ran away because my dad and uncle hate me because I remind them of her, not to mention they're always drunk and don't care about me anymore." Ruby told them. "So I left."

The duo in front of her was silent, until the woman started signing to the man again. "No, Neo." The man shot down whatever she was saying. The woman, Neo, pouted and the man glared at her with hard green eyes. "We have a job to do. We can't." He told her.

More signing and he opened his mouth to speak, but a parosol seemed to appear magically in Neo's hands and whacked the man with it.

"Owww! Neo!" The man exclaimed, rubbing his leg "Let's go. I _really _don't fancy getting wet." He told her. Neo put her hands on her hips and pouted, almost in a child-like manner. The man rolled his eyes and finally she nodded and they both turned around and started walking away, leaving Ruby alone.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Ruby called, running to grab the back of the man's jacket. The moment she touched him, Neo and he shattered like glass. "What...?" Ruby asked herself quietly, her hand remaining outreached as she tried to comprehend what happened. Her hand recoiled as she felt something wet hit her hand.

Looking up, the dark stormcloud obscured the entire sky. _Drip. _A droplet of cold water hit her nose. Ruby sighed, drawing her cloak closer to herself. Walking out of the alleyway, the rain picked up until it was a torrential downpour of what felt like liquid bullets. Her cloak was soaked and it felt like it was plastered to her skin as it was a practically nonexistant barrier between Ruby's skin and the rain. The streets were almost deserted, and all the people who were out there were carrying umbrellas.

She trudged on, until she saw a shop was lit up. Ruby had no second thoughts about entering, as it would allow a respite from the rain. A bell tinkled and she let the door close behind her as thunder rolled overhead, followed soon by a flash of lightning somewhere in the sky.

"Nasty out there, ain't it kid?" A voice asked, Ruby turned around to see the man again, but disguised as Neo's father once more. Neo was next to him and tilted her head in a greeting.

Ruby put her hood down and used a hand to try and move away the hair that was plastered to her face. "Yeah." She told him as she managed to brush her wet bangs out of the way of her face. Now she moved to start methodically wring out what felt like gallons of water trapped in her cloak's fabric.

The man and Neo shared a glance and the man spoke again, "I suggest that when you're all done drying yourself off to run off," he glanced around and his next words were quieter - the cacophany of rain on the roof was enough to shield the conversation from being overheard by possible evesdroppers, "Because we have a job to do, and I doubt a kid like you needs to get caught up in our line of work. Its not the most savory... or legal." Neo and him started shifting back to the people Ruby met in the alleyway, and a cane was in his hands. "So get on." He told Ruby, raising his cane. The bottom of it flipped open to form a crosshair for him to aim at Ruby with.

Despite this, Ruby was curious and felt defiance fill her out of nowhere. "I don't see why I should." She told them, and the man threw his hands in the air.

"God! Kids these days!" He declared loudly in obvious frustration, "Just leave, jeez! It like you _want_ to get killed!" He exclaimed. Neo's brow furrowed and she snapped her fingers to gain his attention by signing something. He gave a glare her way "I doubt that would be a good idea." He told her. Neo glared back and signed more. "No." He stated.

Before Neo could try and argue more, a door opened and the shopkeep came out. The man's green eyes lit up as he set his cane down, the crosshair flipping back down as he turned to the shopkeep. "Ah! Just the man I was looking for!" He declared, an aura of casual bravado surrounding him as he got to business. "Hand over your lien and we'll be on our way, or if you don't-" he gave sucked a breath through his teeth, "then the cops will have to deal with a murder case as well as a robbery. Your choice." He told the shopkeep flippantly.

His words seemed to have their desired effect as the shopkeep seemed to shrink down and pleaded "Just take my money, please!" He croaked, opening the register.

The man raised his cane again at Ruby, crosshair flipping up. "Well Red. Since you are so hell-bound on _not_ leaving - how about your the one to fetch this kind man's money and bring it to us!" He told her with an upbeat grin on his features.

Ruby felt frozen as her heart started beating just a _tad_ faster. She felt fear knot her stomach. "Well?" The man asked "Get on with it, kid. We don't exactly have all day." Ruby started walking slowly to the counter, each step felt like she was walking neck deep in honey. To add to the stress, she knew the cane was still trained on her as she stopped and mechanically raised her hands as the shopkeep pushed the lien her way. "Hurry it up, Red! The cops could be here any second!" The man barked, striding Ruby's way and snatching the money from her himself.

Neo nodded to Ruby a quick acknowledgement. Ruby was still frozen as sirens started blaring in the distance and grew louder each second that passed. "Farewell, Red. Thanks for helping us, and good luck using your kid charm to get your way out of trouble!" The man told Ruby as he and Neo started making a getaway

But just as the door opened, a police cruiser rounded the corner. Ruby started running after them as an officer leapt out and yelled the usual phrases shouted in television shows. "Freeze! Put your hands in the air and drop your weapons! Vale Police Department!" Roman and Neo kept running as Ruby attempted to follow. But there was a bang, and Ruby realized they were being shot at. Turning around, bullets started flying and the gun swung around to face her. Ruby stopped and froze as a gunshot echoed. Screwing her eyes shut, she waited for the bullet to impact, but then a hand was grabbing Ruby's own.

Opening her eyes, Neo was grabbing her hand and dragging her along. They rounded a corner and the man was waiting, cane held out. "Neo! What the hell do you think you're doing?" He shouted and swung the cane once again at Ruby, Neo tucked her parasol under her arm to sign at him. The man grew even more angry "She was supposed to take the fall for us! Why save her?" He demanded. Neo signed at him, and he threw his arms in the air. Neo kept signing insistantly. "You actually think she has potential?" Rapid nodding from Neo as she kept signing, hands speeding up. "Fine. If shit hits the fan and things go south, we're bailing and you're taking the fall if it comes to it — understood" he told Neo, who nodded again.

Ruby was about to ask what they were talking about, when the duo turned Ruby's way. "Alright Red. Neo here thinks you'll be useful to us, so seeing as you probably have nowhere to go, we're offering to take you under our wing. We'll train you and the such, but you need to know this is a lifelong commitment." He told Ruby.

She hesitated, should she live the life of a criminal? Her heart was saying no, that she would be caught and locked up. But then again, did she have any better plan?

"I'l do it." She agreed, the man reached a gloved hand out to Ruby, who shook it.

Neo smiled, and the man finally introduced himself to Ruby. "Well, if you didn't know who I am already, I'm Roman Torchwick - professional street rat of Vale. The lady next to me is Neopolitan, but just call her Neo." He informed Ruby. Ruby nodded, and Roman told Neo and her "Now, let's get out of here and back home!".

Neo nodded vigorously and opened her parosol and used it to shield herself from the rain. Roman grumbled a complaint under his breath while he cast an envious glance at the woman, and Ruby knew exactly what was going through his head Neo took the lead back down the streets. Roman and Ruby trailed behind her.

**A/N: Welcome to _One Man's Trash Is Another's Treasure_! A theif!Ruby AU if none of you already could tell. As you may have noticed, the chapter is labeled "Prologue 1" and not just "Prologue", this is because I'm splitting up what would have been an 8-9k chapter into 5 or 6 chapters with 1-2k per chapter (maybe even a 3k). **

**Just to get two things out of the way:**

**1) Ruby will NOT go to Beacon (at least in the way you're probably imagining) but I plan on her most likely going at some point.**

**2) I do not intend (at this point in time) for there to be any ships (involving Ruby) in the story. This may change with time, but please don't ask for any ships in the story.**

**One more thing.**

**I don't know yet if Ruby will keep her semblance. Leave a review if you think Ruby should keep it or not. If you want her to have a different semblance, then tell me what YOU would think it would be. **


	2. Prologue2

Prologue 2

_Five years ago..._

Ruby ducked under Roman's strike and lashed a leg out to try and off-balance her mentor. He leapt over her leg and Ruby shifted to a crouch to spring at him. He braced himself and grabbed Ruby's arm to throw her away. Ruby barely managed to right herself mid-air and land on all fours. Roman was already running at Ruby and he seemed to try and go for the pin. Ruby jumped back and dashed to the side before leaping off a wall and rocketing towards Roman, who leaned out of the way. Ruby reached an arm out and snagged his hat. Roman's eyes narrowed in rage as he released a short shout of anger. Ruby smirked and landed on the wall before kicking off and running at him. An arm grabbed her and slammed her to the floor as a foot was placed on her back.

Neo rang the bell and put a tally mark next to Roman's name. The tally for the sparring was Ruby with 6 wins and Roman with 8 wins. Ruby handed Roman's hat back to him, and he grumbled while dusting it off. Neo stood up from the stool and signed to the duo _'That's a wrap!'_ She gave a clap, smiling _'So Roman wins again by just a small margin.' _

Ruby sighed and Neo pat her shoulder. _'You'rke getting much better. Weapons is next.' _A grin split the mute's face. Ruby stretched her arms above her, and nodded to the woman.

"This'll be interesting, as per usual!" Roman piped up and ruffled Ruby's hair "Good luck with your bruises!" He laughed and walked to Neo's stool and swapped the side that had his name to read "Neo" instead. Neo picked up Hush, and Ruby walked to the other side of the warehouse to her weapon.

Sleek red and black metal caught in the fluorescent lighting as she lifted it. Dark Glory was a handsome weapon, each peice was crafted with good quality materials. It appeared to be a single long knife, about the length from her shoulder to her wrist from pommel to blade tip. It could break apart into two seperate knives, slightly smaller then the full Dark Glory. Each one's hilt had a chamber that could fire up to four bullets with a total amout of Ruby being able to fire 8 bullets. The hilt and pommel was black, a glassbreaker on the hilt. The crossguard was a dark red and the blade was a dull grey, nearly an almost blackish color.

"Ahem! Any minute now ladies!" Roman drawled. Ruby gave an annoyed huff and grabbed the leg sheathes that held small dust-infused throwing knives. She strapped them on and checked her reflection in the blade. Her hair was longer, now having to be tied back with a hairtie.

Now she walked to the middle of the wherehouse to where Neo waited. She bowed her head and Ruby returned the sign of respect.

"Ready," Roman told them. Ruby's hand tightened on Dark Glory.

"Set," Neo smiled, eye colors swapping as she narrowed them in focus.

"Begin!" Neo was fast to launch at Ruby, who broke apart Dark Glory to block a swipe from Hush. Neo was a quick fighter, and no movements with the mute was ever wasted. Ruby always had to think on her toes if she ever was to even _touch_ her - which it in itself was hard.

Ducking under a thrust, Ruby lashed Dark Glory at Neo and merged the knives together to grab a throwing knife. Neo took note of the movement, and Ruby was ready to follow up as she threw the burn Dust knife that exploded on impact, Ruby flew through the smoke to find Hush had been opened. She kicked off of the parosol to get distance and broke Dark Glory apart and flew a few shots to either side of Neo to keep the mute moving. Neo was moving alright — right at Ruby with lightning speed. Ruby took a risk and when Neo thrust at Ruby, she jumped onto the folded Hush and used it to gain momentum. Neo turned up to Ruby, and Ruby saw to her satisfaction, surprise and pride flash in quick sucession on the woman's face. Ruby landed and Neo rolled out of the way. Ruby struck out with Dark Glory, only to be parried by Hush. Neo leaned out of the way, eyes challenging Ruby without words.

Ruby was panting lightly as she watched Neo slowly approah her. Then Ruby watched her muscles coil and tensed her own to meet Neo as the two shot at one another in unison. Neo loved combat, "an intimate dance where death is the stakes" the mute had once called it. Ruby couldn't agree more. Now she made an 'x' with the blades of Dark Glory to block a thrust from Neo. Neo frowned and when Ruby went for a thrust of her own, Neo shattered. Ruby whipped around to see a fist come her way. Ruby's head snapped to the side as her aura tanked the blow. Neo's hand went on Ruby's side as the woman tried to go for the pin.

_No!_ Ruby thought as she gave a desperate gasp. Suddenly, Neo seemed to freeze for a second as Ruby ran out of harm's way. Running behind Neo, Ruby wondered why the mute had yet to move and kicked Neo down and pinned her. Neo's head whipped around as Roman yelled "What?!"

Ruby let Neo up as an astonished Roman gave Ruby a tally mark. 1-0. Neo walked behind Ruby and to Ruby's shock, plucked a rose petal from the ground with wide eyes.

_'You just unlocked your semblance'_ Neo announced.

Ruby was shocked. "I... did? What happened?" She questioned.

"All of a sudden you were cloaked in rose petals and you moved behind Neo and pinned her. The moment you had her pinned, the effect vanished. It wasn't even normal movement, Ruby." Roman explained.

_'What happened for you?'_ Neo asked.

"I was panicking, you were about to pin me. Then you just _stopped_ completely and I moved to pin you." Ruby informed Neo.

Roman looked to Neo "Do you want to go against her again?" He asked. Neo nodded

_'I want to see if we can replicate that again. Ruby, try and activate it again.' _Neo told them.

Ruby and Neo bowed, and Ruby tried to focus to remember the raw panic of almost losing. Nothing happened as she ran at Neo. She landed a blow, but Neo shattered. Suddenly, Neo was behind Ruby and thrusting with Hush straight for Ruby. Ruby barely moved out of the way in time. Neo wasn't sparring like normal, she was sparring to trigger panic in Ruby with fast and unpredictable movements. Ruby swiped at Neo again who shattered again and Ruby looked behind her, but Neo was already flying at her.

_No, no, no! _Ruby's mind screamed and time stopped, she ran out of the way and then time resumed with Neo on the opposide side of the warehouse. Neo gave a smile and a small nod of approval before hurling herself again at Ruby. Ruby checked Dark Glory - five bullets left. She shot two of them at Neo, making the woman open Hush to deflect one and ducked under a second one. Ruby ran to meet Neo in a shower of sparks. Ruby ducked and tried to sweep a leg under Neo, which the mute jumped over and did a backflip to distance herself only to run at Ruby again. They clashed again and again, one retreating and the other pursuing before they met again to repeat the cycle.

At last, Ruby felt time stop as she rushed at a slow moving Neo and she pinned her to the ground.

"Ruby 2, Neo nil!" Roman declared as Ruby helped Neo up.

Neo dusted herself off, _'Again.'_ She commanded. Ruby was happy to comply.

=

"Qrow, have you found out anything?" Ozpin asked, fingers steepled as he watched the huntsman.

Qrow Branwen raked his fingers through his hair and mumbled, "Nothing, Oz. There's been no damn trace of her anywhere." He informed the headmaster. Ozpin hummed and sipped from his mug. "Look," Qrow gave a heavy sigh "I'm not going to rest until I find her."

Ozpin nodded, arms folding calmly on the desk as he looked at Qrow from over his pince-nez. "I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Qrow." He agreed with the man. "But," he added "You need to spend time with your neice as well. Yang is hurting as much as Tai and you. Take a break, just for a few months, and be with Yang."

Qrow seemed to deflate, "I'm sorry." He sighed.

"Don't be sorry, Qrow." Ozpin told Qrow "Take a break, go see Yang. Then later you can go back to looking for Ruby."

The huntsman nodded, "Alright, I will." He agreed.

Ozpin smiled "Thank you, Qrow. That will be all." He said. Qrow gave a weak smile in return.

"No, thank you, Oz." Qrow turned and walked back to the elevator. Hitting the button, he felt the descent begin and put his hands behnd his head.

He transformed and started flapping, angling towards Patch. When he arrived, he saw Yang laying in the grass staring at the clouds. Shifting back in the treelines, he walked to Yang. "Hey Firecracker." He greeted.

His neice was silent, and Qrow sat down next to her. Summoning his courage, the man spoke again. "How are ya doing?"

Again, silence met his words. Now Qrow sighed in defeat. He stood up again, and walked to the house.

Tai's head jerked up from the papers her was grading, pen freezing in his hand. "Qrow? Have you found her?" He asked, hope in his eyes. Qrow sucked in a breath.

"No. Oz wanted me to come home — to spend time with Yang and take a break." Qrow told Tai, who looked crushed.

"Oh..." The man sighed.

"Tai, I'm sorry. I looked nearly _everywhere_. There's no trace of her." Qrow walked to his teammate and put a hand on his shoulder. To his surprise it was shaking. Looking to Taiyang's face, he saw tears in his eyes as the teacher started crying.

Unsure what to do, Qrow pat his shoulder and Tai gave a shuddering inhale before releasing a sob. "I miss her..." he cried. "We were so damn _stupid_! We neglected to care for her and she ran away! This is my fault!" He yelled "Dammit, dammit, dammit!"

Qrow hesistated, "Tai, its not just your fault. Its mine too. Its in the past now - nothing we can do about it but look forward. Ruby might not be here now, but we need to focus on Yang. She lost her sibling and her stepmother in such a short span — she's all screwed up because of it." He told Tai, who gave a heavy sigh before sobbing again.

"I know... I'm such a bad fucking father." He admitted. Qrow sighed, sitting on the couch next to Tai.

"No, you just needed time to yourself. I did too. I'm just as guilty as you are, but we need to stop kicking ourselves in the balls about it. Lets suck it up, for Yang's sake, and care for her instead of moping around like a bunch of depressed assholes." Qrow told Tai, who looked at him and gave a weak laugh.

"Jeez, Summer rubbed off on you more then you'll probably admit. That sounds like what she'd say to us." He told Qrow, who gave a small chuckle himself.

"Not sure if its a good or bad thing." He wondered jokingly. Tai gave a more genuine laugh and smiled, seeming just a bit brighter then it was before.

**A/N: So that's prologue 2. I'll say that Yang is going to be a tad different in the story. She lost her mother, then her mother-figure, and her half-sister so far in life. She'll be a bit clingy because she doesn't want to lose anyone else. Thank you everyone for the reviews. I didn't go with Crescent Rose, nor did I ever think of it because I already knew what I wanted for her weapon. But I did take some of your ideas for her semblance. As seen, she describes time as "stopping" but in reality they just are moving really slow to Ruby. I wasn't crying in the Tai scene! I swear! **

**Thank you everyone for the support, I appreciate it so much! **

**Feel free to drop a review for any questions or suggestions, I'll read and appreciate every last one of them. If you have questions, I'll answer them at the end of the next chapter! **


	3. Prologue3

Prologue 3

_Four years ago..._

"We are _not_ keeping it, Ruby!" Roman snapped. Ruby pouted.

"Why not?" She demanded.

"Because it eats up time and lien - and it'll shit all over the carpet too!" Roman exclaimed. Neo bowed her head with shoulders shaking in silent laughter, causing Roman to glance balefully at the mute. "I'm telling the truth, Neo!" This just made Neo laugh even more before signing to Ruby, _'He just won't admit he's a cat person'_ and the silver eyed girl gave a laugh. "Wow Neo, thanks _so_ much for backing me up!" Roman declared sarcastically, green eyes full of irritation. Neo smiled and flipped him off, making Ruby snort. "Real mature, Neo. Real mature." Roman snorted, crossing his arms.

_'Like your any better' _Neo retorted and Ruby snickered. Now Roman's ire was turned back to Ruby.

"Red, shut the hell up! We're not keeping the puppy!" Roman snapped.

Ruby pouted "Romann..." she drawled, "I'll pick up after it, train it, walk it and everything else!" She pleaded and gave him her biggest puppy dog eyes. Neo joined in, and Roman rubbed the side of his face in irritation.

"Both of you, stop." Roman sighed. Finally after a furthur thirty seconds of Neo and Ruby's silent begging, he threw his arms in the air in defeat. "Fine! Keep the mutt! But I'm not helping you with anything, it belongs to you now, Ruby." He exclaimed.

Neo grinned and Ruby fist pumped as Roman rolled his eyes and lit a cigar.

_'What are you thinking of naming it?'_ Neo asked. Ruby pondered it for a moment, staring at the tiny sleeping doberman puppy laying before them.

A name popped into Ruby's mind in a matter of seconds, as if the pup had whispered its true name onto her mind and heart. "Drei." She decided.

_'Sounds like a good name.' _Neo agreed. Drei then proceeded to open its eyes.

"Remember, the thing is your responsibility now, Ruby!" Roman called and started walking away.

As if to prove the orange-haired theif's point, Drei promptly started peeing on the carpet.

* * *

"Drei no!" Ruby cried out, Drei was tearing eagerly into Beo. The plush looked like it wouldn't take much more. Ruby ran into action and grabbed half the plushie.

"Let... go... now... _Drei_!" Ruby yelled, and with a horrific noise, Beo severed at the torso. Ruby stumbled backwards and the pup shook his head, sending the guts of the plushie everywhere. "Noooo! Beo!" Ruby wailed, tears springing forth as she held the top half of Beo.

As if Drei just realized he did a bad thing, a whine drew Ruby's attention as he set down his half of Beo and slowly shuffling towards Ruby in clear shame. Ruby sighed and he lowered himself further to the ground before reaching Ruby and hesitantly licking at her hand.

"Its not your fault..." Ruby mumbled at last as Drei kept whimpering. She put a hand on Drei's head and stroked the puppy. It had been a few months since he had come into Ruby's life - and suddenly he took something away from her.

Beo had been a gift from her Uncle Qrow, won from a carnival game where you hit a hammer to test your strength. But now she looked at the two halves and realized something.

She picked up the other half and walked to her desk before withdrawing a needle and black thread and used it to sew the halves together with Drei watching in shame.

"Its fine, Drei." Ruby told him, his ears lowered. Ruby hummed to herself as she sewed. Finished, she examined the stitching and then stood up before offering Beo to Drei, who cocked his head and whined. "Take him. Beo's yours now, boy. I don't need him anymore when I have Roman, Neo, and you." She informed the puppy, whose eyes brightened a bit as he gently took the toy from Ruby's hand before placing Beo between his paws and licking Ruby's hand. She pat his head. "Good boy. I love you." She murmured and Drei's tail started wagging.

* * *

Ruby walked, Drei trotting happily by her side on a leash as they walked through downtown Vale city.

"Take it in, Drei! Beautiful Vale city!" Ruby told the dog. Drei turned his head to her and opened his mouth in a doggy grin. They were on their daily walk, although that was their cover story - it was _really_ for Ruby to be a petty pickpocket.

The brother gods were shining on them today as a little girl with curly brown pigtails pointed at Drei "Ooh! Mommy, a doggy! Can I pet it?" She asked. Ruby smiled internally and approached the woman and her daughter.

"Drei, sit." Ruby commanded and told the woman "She can pet him, he's quite friendly and loves it." The girl cooed oved Drei and pet him, he gave a doggy grin to Ruby, and eventually Ruby tapped her heels together. Responding to the covert signal, Drei stood up and padded to the mother before looking at her with excitement. "Oh my, I think he took a shine to you, ma'am." Ruby told the woman "He really wants you to pet him."

The woman hesitated, but eventually let up. Drei distracted the duo long enough for Ruby to steal the woman's wallet from her purse. "Addie, we need to get home to make dinner. Daddy will be home later." The woman told her daughter, who lit up and gave Drei a few parting pets before they continued on.

"Good boy." Ruby fed Drei a treat, smiling.

Ruby unlocked the door and let Drei off his leash.

"Five watches and seven wallets!" Roman said by way of greeting. Ruby shook her head

"Nope!" She popped the 'p'. "Two watches and three wallets!" She informed the criminal.

"Damn!" He cursed. Neo summoned Drei with a clap and Ruby handed over her stolen wares to Roman for him to count. "Catch!" He threw the watches at Neo for her to inspect. With the mute distracted, Drei padded to Roman and the theif pet the doberman's head. Eventually, Drei licked the man's hand and he withdrew his hand. "Yuck! Red, control your dog please!" He yelled.

Ruby snickered "Drei!" She called. The doberman trotted to her and laid down, prompting Ruby for belly rubs which she happily gave. "Who's the best distraction ever? You are! Oh yes you are! You help mama steal their wallets and watches with how cute you are! I'm so proud of you! Yes I am!" Ruby cooed and Drei barked, tail thumping wildly.

Neo, finished examining the watches, called Drei again who ran to the woman.

"I'll be in my room!" Ruby told Roman and Neo before walking to where her room was and collapsing into her favorite red bean bag chair with a sigh.

She lived a good life under Roman and Neo. Acting as a petty pickpocket by day, she would train with Roman and Neo at night to improve her skills so she could eventually accompany them on heists and robberies.

But some days, like today, she found her thoughts drifting to her old family. Yang would probably go to Signal for the next few years to become a Huntress like Summer had been. Then she'd be off to Beacon. While Ruby would still be with Roman and Neo...

Her thoughts were interrupted by the tapping of claws as Drei nudged his way into Ruby's room and laid down next to her before resting his head in her lap. Ruby started stroking him, staring absentmindedly at the ceiling. "Drei," she mused softly, drawing the doberman's attention with perked ears "Do you ever wonder what life would be like if we had not done a thing we did in the past?" She asked him quietly, momentarily pausing in petting him. Drei raised his head a bit and gave Ruby an inquisitive look before licking her fingers, prompting Ruby to stroke him more. "I guess if I hadn't done it, I would have never met you." Ruby let herself sink deeper into the bean bag chair with a slow exhale. Drei gave a soft huff and rested his head back in Ruby's lap.

They stayed like that for a while, and Ruby let her eyes drift close as Drei shifted closer to her.

"Ruby, dinner!" Roman's shout rudely awoke Ruby, who flailed and accidentally smacked Drei in the face.

"Gaah!" Ruby cried out in blind panic, but realized immedatly what happened and started apologizing to Drei, who gave a grin and licked her face. "Coming!"

She yelled at Roman and got up from her chair to walk slowly to the kitchenette.

_'Sleeping beauty awakens at last!' _Neo signed before digging into her chicken.

Ruby sat down and the three of them began eating. Both noticed Neo call Drei silently and slip him some of her chicken, but neither commented on or ackowledged it.

"So, Red." Roman began once they had started eating "How would you like to go on your first heist?" He asked.

Ruby's knife and fork clattered to the plate as her mouth dropped open.

_'Careful, better shut that or a fly will buzz in.' _Neo teased.

"Really?" Ruby asked. Roman nodded, a smile spreading on his face. Ruby felt her heart beat a bit faster.

A heist! They asked if she wanted to do a heist!

"Yep. We think you're ready for it. We'll be with you every step." Roman told her and tore a chunk of chicken from the drumstick he was eating.

"Yes!" Ruby cried out in excitement. "Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes!" Neo raised and eyebrow, but ultimatly the mute smiled.

"Alright. After dinner we'll start planning it out." Roman informed Ruby.

To this day, Ruby believed that she never finished eating her dinner as fast as she did on that night.

**A/N: TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY??! Lucky you!! Possibly not the longest chapter I've ever done, but this introduces a new character: Drei! ("Three" in German. Like Zwei is "two" in German). Not much to say. Follow, favorite and review if you enjoyed the story and I'll see you all in the next chapter!! **


	4. Prologue4

Prologue 4

_3 years ago..._

Ruby drew her cloak closer to herself, reaching into her pocket she withdrew a black calling card with a few scattered rose petals on it surrounding the word _Red_ on it.

She placed it inside the now empty safe and Neo nodded in approval. The mute was holding a bag with their wares stolen from this house. "Let's get going." Ruby told Neo, and they headed to the bedroom window. Ruby held Dark Glory in a reverse grip and slammed the glassbreaker on the window and it shattered. They both smiled and leapt out. Ruby grabbed Neo's hand and activated her semblance. They hit the ground and started running back home.

Drei barked on the other side of the door as Neo fiddled with the keys before giving up and picking it instead. "We're home!!" Ruby yelled, and Drei ran into her full force - nearly knocking her over in the process. "Hello my little baby boy! How are you?!" Ruby asked as Drei's tail whipped back and forth like a metronome. He ran to Ruby's room and came barreling back moments later with a toy rope and held it expectantly while looking at Neo, who engaged him in tug-of-war.

Ruby took the bag and dumped the contents on the floor. A bunch of lien cards, jewlery, and small electronics fell out as Ruby began to sort them.

Drei padded to Ruby's side and sat next to her with a huff before licking her ear. "Drei!!" Ruby shreiked, head jerking away as Drei kept moving to her.

There was a snapping of fingers as Neo saved Ruby from her fate of being licked by Drei. The dog ran at Neo and the mute seemed to regret her choice as she signed at Ruby to help her. Ruby shrugged. "You wanted this." She told Neo, who glared at her.

Ruby continued to sort the things until everything was catagorized. Neo walked behind her _'I'll take it to the pawn shop tonight'_ she signed and Ruby nodded.

It had been a year since her first heist, an unassuming shop where she took the shopkeeper's lien. From there, Roman and Neo built her confidence with store robberies and eventually she graduated to home robberies. A few months ago, she got a gift from her mentors - her own calling cards. Now Ruby always left one wherever she went after robbing a place. And in return she made a name of herself.

Turning on her Scroll, Ruby plugged in her headphones and put them on. Turning on her music, Ruby went to her room and grabbed her book to keep reading.

Roman was away on his own business, leaving the girls on their own. He'd be back in a few days, but Ruby and Neo wanted to suprise him by getting several robberies in.

Taking her headphones out for a moment, she heard the chatter of the television as Neo watched the news. She took _The Theif and The Butcher _and walked out to sit by the mute and listen in.

"_Home break-ins and robberies have experianced a spike in activity in the recent months. Several houses have been broken into, and a calling card left behind by a criminal who is calling themselves "Red". Security footage has not been recovered, as this criminal seems to evade all attenpts to record them."_ The screen turned into a photo of Ruby's calling card as Lisa Lavender continued speaking. _"Police are working hard to try and capture and identify Red. If you have any information on this criminal, please contact the Vale Police Department." _Ruby smiled as a number flashed on the screen. _"Now, the Vale Council seat race has been picking up, along with candidate Alba Hollows denying any dealings with the criminal underworld to get her the funds for her campaign against candidate Birch Windward - who is a prominant figure in this election."_ Ruby rolled her eyes, and Neo scratched behind Drei's ears as the news anchor switched to an interview with the aforementioned candidate. Neo picked up the remote and switched the channel to a movie.

Ruby raised an eyebrow "_Love More Than Likely_? Really Neo?" She asked the mute as the hero galloped towards the maiden who had her back turned to the single beowolf creeping behind her. She sighed, slouching down into the couch "The trailer was _so_ misleading! They showed him fighting a whole hoard - not a single Beowolf!" She exclaimed. Neo rolled her eyes and made a hushing motion.

"My hero!" The maiden cheered as the beowolf dissapeared in terrible CG effects.

"Uuugh! That's the _worst_ special effects ever! Not to mention they had a budget of like, twenty five cents!" Ruby whined as the hero went in for a sappy kiss. Neo's eyes narrowed in irritation.

_'You'd want to watch _Try Hard 2: Try Harderer_. Now THAT'S a movie with a shitty storyline and they spent all their budget on explosion effects.' _The mute rebuked.

"Sappy virgin." Ruby muttered, and suddenly Neo pinned her on the ground with an arm behind her back. Neo leered at the girl, who yelped in pain. Drei barked, ears lowering as his tail tucked. "Ok! Ow! Ok! You win - ow, ow! I'm sorry Neo! Ow!" Ruby cried and Neo let her up.

_'Don't ever call me that again.' _Neo crossed her arms _'As punishment - you have to watch the whole thing with me now.' _She informed Ruby, who gave a wail.

"Noooo! This isn't even a sixteenth of a way through the film! Oh my god Neo! Please no!" Ruby pleaded. Neo grabbed Hush and Ruby immediatly shut up. Drei jumped up on the couch between the two girls and watched the movie with great attentiveness. When the main character, Jim - if Ruby remembered correctly - kissed the maiden whose name Ruby could never remember for the life of her, Drei's tail thumped as he gave a doggy smile at the screen. "Oh God above — you too, Drei?" Ruby sighed and threw her arms in the air in hopeless defeat.

An _agonizing_ two hours, twenty seven minutes and forty three seconds later, the screen faded to the words "The End" and Ruby sprung to her feet, desperate to get out of the room before Neo started her rant on how "good" of a movie that _Love More Than Likely_ was. She slammed her bedroom door shut and collapsed onto her bed.

* * *

Ruby pointed Dark Glory at the store owner. "Well? We don't have all day, sir." She drawled on.

The man laughed "You're the famous Red?" He asked, and laughed even harder. Ruby's grip tightened on the handle.

"Hold your tongue, or I'll remove it." Ruby told him. The man kept laughing, now wheezing for breath.

"You can't be serious! A _twelve year old_ is Red?!" He slammed the table with a hand in his fit of laughter. Ruby gritted her teeth and sighed.

_Not what I wanted, but I guess I should do it anyway._ She thought and used her semblance to impale his chest with one of Dark Glory, the other slashing across his throat. Blood sprayed forth from his neck like water from a hose. His laughter started choking as he clutched his throat and his breath rattled. "That's what you get." Ruby told the shopkeeper, whose eyes were wide in pain. "Can't let people know anything about me." She walked to the register and took the lien before placing her card in the register.

Turning back to the shopkeep, Ruby stared in his eyes, watching as they were filled with terror and the light faded. She ripped the blade in his chest out and wiped the blood off on his shirt.

Giving a final glance, Ruby walked out of the shop and Neo waited. "Come on, Roman's waiting." She told Neo, throwing the mute the small sack of lien cards. Neo threw up an illusion around them and they walked to the car where Roman waited.

"Good haul?" He asked. Neo shrugged and climbed into the passanger side before starting to count the cards. Roman's hand reached for the radio dial and Neo's slapped it away. "Hey!" Roman exclaimed and Neo glared. "Why do you hate Achieve Man so much?" He asked. Neo tilted her head, eyes swapping colors before she turned her attention bacm to the lien. "Fine. No music." Roman glared.

* * *

A/N:

Yeah an even shorter chapter. Basically there's not too much more that's important. We'll be skipping to the present now because the next two years are the same. If you want a breif summary of what happens: Ruby Neo and Roman rob stuff and that's about it.


	5. Prologue5

Prologue 5

_Present Day..._

"So some chick wants to talk to us? Some sort of offer?" Ruby asked. Roman nodded in front of her, moving the car into a a parking spot and unlocking the doors for them to get out.

"That's why I brought you guys. She's creepy as shit." Roman explained, grabbing Melodic Cudgel and making sure his weapon was loaded. Ruby did the same with Dark Glory as Neo rested Hush across her shoulders. Satisfied, Roman led the way in, with Neo and Ruby a step behind him.

Music blared in the club, the ground vibrating with the bass and chatter of patrons there. Ruby's nose wrinkled at the smell of sweat, drugs and alcohol that permiated her poor nostrils. Following Roman to the bar, Junior was cleaning a glass.

"Ah, Junior! Just the man I was looking for!" Roman exclaimed, causing Junior to look up, "How are you doing?"

"I'm good, Roman. I see you've brough your ladies with you tonight. Special occasion, or...?" Junior noted, Roman nodded

"Meeting someone. Wanted Red and Neo with me to make sure nothing shady goes down." Roman informed Junior and lit a cigar before puffing on it. Junior nodded in response.

"Understandable. The usuals?" He offered, Roman turned to Ruby and Neo, who nodded. Junior gave one last nod, "Alright. I'll make them up for you." The man told them.

"Thanks." Ruby said.

Before the drinks were ready, a trio was approaching them, led by a black haired woman. "Are you Roman Torchwick?" She asked in a low, silky voice that made Ruby want to shiver.

Roman took his cigar from his mouth, "Hello gorgeous," He murmured "Yes, the one and only. You are?"

The woman's gold eyes swept across Ruby and Neo, and Ruby felt vulnable - like an ant under a magnifying glass. She now agreed with Roman's accurate description. This woman _was_ creepy as shit. "I'm Cinder Fall. The two with me are my disciples, Emerald and Mercury." The woman introduced herself, and Ruby took stock of the duo. It was easy to tell who was who.

"Well the two ladies with me are my henchmen Neo and Red," Neo and Ruby didn't even need to glance at eachother before unanimously deciding to both kick the back of Roman's legs. The man staggared a step forward and raised his hands in a placating gesture. "My apoligies, I meant they're my partners in crime." He spun around and both girls met irritated green eyes with smug smirks. "Anywho, miss Fall. What did you want from us?" He asked.

Ruby watched Mercury scratch the back of his head and listened to Cinder speak. "We have a need for your services." But then the girl in red's attention was drawn to an all too familiar blonde teen striding into the club.

_What's she doing here?_ Ruby thought in alarm, watching as someone who could only be Yang walk to the bar and start talking to Junior.

"Aren't you a little young to be in this club, Blondie?" Junior asked.

Yang smiled, "Aren't you a little old to have a name like Junior?" She shot back playfully.

"So you know who I am. You got a name, sweetheart?" Junior asked. Yang smiled.

"I've got several, but you can call me _sir_." She told him, grabbing him where the sun doesn't shine. Junior groaned in pain. "They say you know everything," she pulled out her Scroll, a picture of young Ruby on it, "Tell me where I can find her and I'll let you go." She offered.

"I've never seen her before in my life, I swear!" Junior groaned. Yang tightened her grip.

"Excuse me?" She growled. Junior gulped.

"I swear, sir!" He amended.

Yang looked around to see a crowd forming before turning back to Junior. "Hm, looks like we have an audiance. Must be embarrasing for you. Awkward." She told him.

"Listen Blondie - sir! If you want to leave this club alive I suggest you let me go! Now!" Junior groaned. Yang released him at last. "You'll pay for that." He told Yang.

"Aw come on, don't be so sensitive! Let's kiss and make up!" Yang suggested and Junior went along with it. When he was a bit away from her, she punched him away.

* * *

Ruby gave a soft gasp in shock when Yang punched Junior and Neo turned to follow Ruby's gaze as Yang punched the floor. The shockwave rocked the club and Roman exclaimed "What in fuck's name is going on?!" As his drink flew from his hands onto the ground.

Ruby deftly broke apart Dark Glory and tensed herself as Neo mirrored her stance. "Perhaps we should meet again in a different place." Cinder suggested, eying the fight as gunshots filled the air. Then suddenly, Yang looked to Ruby and lavender eyes widened. Ruby could read her sister's lips as they formed her name.

"Come on, Red. Let's get going." Roman declared and Ruby shook herself, combining Dark Glory again. Neo gave Ruby a look that showed the mute had seen the exchange between Yang and Ruby.

Yang made an effort to move in Ruby's direction, but Junior walked out with his weapon in his hands and distracted Yang long enough for the party to escape.

* * *

"You're a goddamn liar." Yang spat, standing over the battered form of Junior.

"About... what?" Junior coughed.

Yang blinked, eyes remaining red. "My sister was here the whole time!" She snarled. Junior's head lifted.

"It wasn't my place to disclose that information to you at the time." He told her.

"Yeah? Well spit out anything else you know about Ruby or -" Yang began but a shout drew her attention.

"Yang Xiao Long! Get over here!" Yang paled and Junior chuckled.

"You'd better get going, _sir_. Your dad's calling and he seems pissed." The man said.

"Yang!" Her dad called. Yang sighed and closed her eyes. When they opened again they were lavender again.

"I'll be back." Yang promised darkly, turning away and walking to her dad's side.

"Yang, what the hell?" Her dad sighed.

"Found a lead on Rubes. That bastard knew she was there and didn't tell me." Yang spat out, going to Bumblebee and mounting the bike. Her dad crossed his arms.

"Now where are you going?" He asked. Yang put her helmet on.

"Gonna look around for her. She can't be far." Yang stated.

"Yang, no." She paused and shot the man a look. "What makes you think it's really her?"

"Dad, who else in Vale or even Remnent has silver eyes and a red cloak?" Yang demanded, words coming out harsher than she intended. Met with silence, Yang revved Bumblebee and drove off intent on finding her sister.

* * *

At home Ruby was in her room. There was a knock and Neo entered before kneeling next to Ruby who lay sprawled in her bean bag chair.

_'What was that tonight?'_ The mute asked. Ruby stared at the ceiling, not sure how to answer. Neo snapped her fingers in Ruby's face and the girl looked to Neo as she signed again _'Well?'_

Ruby sighed. "Neo, I can't really explain. Its a long-ish story." She tried to bluff. Neo called her bluff easily.

_'That's bullshit and we both know it.'_ Ruby sighed.

"I know." She admitted. "Just... I guess its conflicting to know Yang's looking for me." She told Neo, and at her quizzical look Ruby elaboarated. "She's my older sister."

Neo's mouth made a small "o" shape as understanding dawned on her. Pregnant silence filled the room, smothering Ruby's chest like smog. She knew this was an issue, but she was terrified how Neo and Roman would react to the news. Neo raised her hands and Ruby held a hand up to stop her.

"Please... Don't tell Roman." She begged. Drei shoved his way into the room and walked to Neo before yawning as if he could sense the tension that now filled Ruby's room.

Neo stayed silent - but then again, when _wasn't_ she silent. After the silence reigned for far too long the criminal's hands moved again. _'I won't. But if your sister becomes a issue, then we _will_ deal with her.'_ Ruby breathed a sigh of relief and then she hugged Neo.

"_Thank you_ Neo!" She told her. Neo patted Ruby's back.

* * *

A/N

: This is the last prologue chapter. The next chapter will start the official Volume 1 events.

Thank you for reading and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!


	6. Yang

Chapter 1: Yang Xiao Long

The wind in her hair died down as she slowed before stopping completely. Bumblebee's engine purred under her before Yang turned it off and pocketed the key as usual.

The blonde inhaled the night smells of downtown Vale City as she walked, stretching. She'd be leaving for Beacon in a few weeks from now, and wanted to live things up a bit before she left. But before that, she needed to stock up on ammunition.

Yang walked leisurely, arms folded behind her head as she looked around at the darkened streets. Not many shops were open this late - but she already knew that From Dust Til' Dawn was at least. Yang kept walking until she saw faint light come from a shop up ahead: the front windows of From Dust Til' Dawn.

_Ting!_ The bell rang as Yang pushed the doors open. "Hello?" The elderly shopkeeper croaked. Yang flashed him a smile. "How may I help you, miss?" He asked.

"Do you have ammo belts for my gauntlets?" Yang asked, taking out a belt from the left gauntlet. The shopkeep inspected it before nodding.

"I think I have something for you, miss. Its in the back. I'll get it." He told Yang who gave him a thumbs up.

"Great! I'll be right here waiting!" She chirped.

As she waited she got bored and poked around, and found some magizine about weapons. Flipping through, suddenly the door opened and the bell tinged again.

"Drei, secure the perimeter." A man's voice ordered as Yang heard the shopkeep re-enter. "Ah, do you have any idea how hard it is to find a Dust shop open this late?"

There was a brisk tapping of claws as something trotted through the store, revealled to be a doberman when it turned a corner to pace down Yang's aisle. The dog stopped before staring Yang down and giving a single bark.

"Dammit. We're not alone?" The man called. Another bark. "You two, go check it out. The rest of you, grab the Dust."

Now two men in black suits with red machetes were stalking down the aisle as the dog trotted throughout the rest of the secure. A few seconds later two barks filled the air. "Good. Drei, to me!"

Unfortunatly, Yang had to deal with the men now. "Hands up." One told Yang, who smiled.

"Is this a robbery?" She asked.

"What does it look like? Of course!" The other told her. Yang smiled and engaged Ember Celica, making both men's heads move to look at the gauntlets.

"Ohh." Yang said, and ran at the first man before punching him back into a wall. The second charged at her and she spun around and punched him, enging Ember Celica as a gunshot filled the shop. The man flew back through a window and Yang followed. Turning behind her, the other men and a man in a white coat followed, alongside the dog.

"Well? Get her!" The man commanded. As the men charged, the dog looked to Roman, tail whipping the air. "Not tonight, boy. I promised you weren't going into combat. They'll kill me and feed my pieces to the Grimm if they find out I let you engage an armed civillian." He told the dog who sat down, ears lowering.

Yang had no problem defeating the men, and she found herself having to throw a new ammo belt in - her last two.

"You were worth every cent, truly you all were." He muttered. "Drei, rendevous point." He then commanded, and the dog picked up a run and vanished down a street. "Well, Blondie. Its _certainly_ been an eventful evening. I believe this is where we part ways!" He raised his cane, the bottom flipping open to form a crosshairs for him to aim at Yang with. She started running at him and he fired, Yang used recoil from a sudeways shot of Ember Celica to evade the blast and pursue the man up a ladder up onto a building.

To her surprise the dog was waiting for the man as a bullhead pulled up. "End of the line!" He yelled and threw a burn Dust crystal Yang's way. Yang flinched and when the smoke cleared the dog was waiting.

"Drei!" An all too familiar voice from Yang's past called, "To me!" The dog took a flying leap and landed in the bullhead. Yang thought she caught a glance of a red cloak and tried to yell to her sister.

"Ruby!" But the bullhead closed and swiftly started flying away. "Ruby!" Yang yelled again, running to the edge of the building. She teetered for a moment and adrenaline fogged her mind. Yang didn't even think and flung herself off of the building. She was airborne and used shots from Ember Celica to get a hold onto the back of the bullhead.

As if she was expected all along, the bullhead's doors opened and suddenly Yang's grip on the bullhead weakened as the surface under her heated up rapidly. Yang couldn't even scream as her hands slipped and she was plummeting. Her hands were red and obviously burned. Yang saw the bullhead's doors close again and she felt her descent slow drastically as a purple glow envelloped her.

Landing safely, she saw none other than Glynda Goodwitch striding to her, riding crop in hands. "Do you realize that what you've done is foolish, headstrong and practically suicidal?" The huntress demanded. Yang shrunk.

"I'm sorry..." She muttered.

"I doubt you'd even have survived that fall with aura. You are very lucky, miss Xiao Long." The woman glanced at Yang with a critical eye. "Even luckier that I saw what you did and caught you." She added.

"Thank you." Yang told her.

"Let's get you back to your bike and see you get home." Goodwitch said, leading the way back to the shop. The shopkeeper was waiting with a large box, that upon opening revealled to be filled to the brim with ammo for Ember Celica.

"Thank you, miss." The man pressed the box to her hands "You get a discount on it."

Yang flashed a smile "No, thank _you_ sir."

* * *

"Jesus, the nerve of that chick! First she shows up at that fucking club and then she shows up to try and thwart a robbery?! Un-fucking-believable! Ruby, Neo, why the _hell_ do I have such shitty luck!" Roman ranted. Neo and Ruby stayed silent through his tirade and let the man burn himself out. "Who the hell tries to cling onto a bullhead mid-flight? Maybe they're not wrong with the "dumb blondes" trope - _she_ seems like the textbook definition of it!"

Neo started ticking off on her fingers. _'5, 4, 3, 2, 1... and'. _Ruby smirked as Roman gave a giant sigh before collapsing into his favorite armchair.

"Uuuuugh." He groaned theatrically, "Whenever we try to live our lives, lying, cheating, stealing and surviving - something just _has_ to screw it up!" He exclaimed. Ruby and Neo shared a look.

"Well we still thwarted Yang. She failed, we succeeded. Let's put tonight behind us." Ruby said - and then immedatly wished she never opened her mouth.

Roman's eyes widened as he stood up and strode until he stood right infront of Ruby. "_Who_?" He stared down the girl, green eyes hard.

Ruby gulped and cast a paniked glance Neo's way. The mute only crossed her arms and gave Ruby a look that told her "you're on your own now. I can't help you because you did this to yourself."

"Ruby, answer my question." Roman growled, grabbing her shoulders.

Ruby bowed her head. She was cornered, screwed, doomed, all those words. "I said "You thwarted Yang". I know that girl's name." Ruby said. Roman opened his mouth to ask another obvious question that Ruby nipped in the butt. "I know her from before I knew you. She's... my sister." She flinched when Roman's jaw went slack as he tried to comprehend what Ruby said.

While he was in his stupor, Ruby ducked out of his grasp and stood next to Neo, who gave her a "really?" look.

Roman gave a deep inhale and withdrew a cigar from his pocket. Lighting it, he took a long drag on it and was silent as he put his lighter back. Ruby was tense as she waited for the inevitable.

"Well this fucks up everything." Was all he said. Ruby bowed her head and Roman took another drag. "She was probably looking for you, kid."

"I know she was." Ruby mumbled, still with her head down.

"Well Ruby? What will we do about this now?" He prompted, causing the girl to look up.

"...What?" She asked quietly. Roman took the cigar away from his mouth.

"I asked you "What will we do about this now?" What are we going to do? She's your sister." Roman informed Ruby.

She remained silent, and Roman continued. "That is unless... you're having _doubts_." Ruby looked at the floor again, "You know you made a promise all those years ago to us. You can't exactly go back to Patch and your sister. Imagine how difficult it'll be to explain "Hey Yang, its me! I was a criminal, theif and murderer for the last six years! I'm ready to come back and be your little sister!" Your pops will have to deal with the fact that his little girl is the infamous Red. Just think long and hard about that information, Ruby." He stopped speaking and took a third drag on the cigar before waiting paitently for her to answer.

Ruby glanced at Neo, who looked at her impassivly. The multi-colored woman didn't say anything or sign. There was nothing for her to tell Ruby. She was on her own in her choice. The silence that filled the apartment was broken by a yawn from Drei, who watched the trio with his dark eyes.

"I wouldn't leave you guys." Ruby finally spoke, voice low. "Yang won't be a threat - she's going to Beacon in a few weeks, and then she'll be out of our way for the next four years."

Roman nodded and dragged on his cigar. "And what about after Yang graduates? A fully fledged huntress after you may be quite the problem." Ruby was silent now.

"We'll think of something." Was all Ruby replied with.

"Alright." Roman told her. "Neo, can we go to our room? I need to speak to you in private about something."

Neo nodded and the two criminals walked off to their shared bedroom. Ruby gave a sigh under her breath and Drei whined to gain her attention. The girl looked at him, and the doberman walked to Ruby's door before turning around and looking at her, waiting for her to follow him back to her room. He stood there, eyes gleaming.

Ruby caved and followed him, pushing open the door and closing it behind them.

Out of habit, she went to the foot of her bed and sat in her bean bag chair. Drei walked to her side, and sat facing Ruby.

Silence reigned once again, and Ruby let her mind drift...

_Thunder roared in the sky, a flash of lightning arcing and lighting up the black clouds above Ruby. Yang was standing in front of her. _

_"Well Red. You've certainly made your choice." Romans's voice drifted from behind Ruby. She spun around to see Neo leaning on a wall for support, blood seeping from between her fingers that clutched her stomach. Ruby turned around at Yang to suddenly see she was battered and bloody too. She whipped around, now Roman as well was injured. Blood trickled down his face from above his hat. _

_"Ruby, come on." Yang offered a hand. _

_"No!" Ruby cried out. Suddenly Yang raised both her fists. _

_"Ruby. We're going home." Yang told her firmly. _

_Ruby suddenly felt a slender hand grab her other arm. Neo looked pleadingly at her. Yang yanked Ruby's arm and Neo staggared forward. When the mute lifted her head, fury was in her eyes. _

_Before Ruby could comprehend, Neo moved with Hush in her hands. She flinched and felt a breeze as Neo moved past her before a cry of pain split the air moments before thunder boomed overhead once again. She turned to see Neo having impaled Yang through the upper chest with Hush's blade. Blood dripped down her sister's chest as she choked on blood. Yang fell to the ground, but not before a final gunshot rang through the air. There was a thud and Ruby turned again to see Roman fall to the ground. _

_"No..." Was all Ruby could say. Anguish filled her as tears blurred her vision. She turned one more time to see Yang fall backwards, and Neo turned around to stare Ruby in the eyes. Lightning illuminated the mute's face as the light from her eyes vanished and she fell forward._

_"Neo!" Ruby cried, "No!" She wailed. There was a whining and Ruby saw Drei nudging Roman's lifeless body. The doberman looked up at Ruby and started barking. "Drei!" Ruby called, trying to move but her legs refused to do her bidding. _

_The doberman barked at Ruby, and Ruby could feel hate in the dog's eyes as he stood over Roman - before springing at Ruby. He pinned her, hot breath in her face as he barked again and again. His face was so close she could smell his breath as his nose pressed against her cheek, barks dying down to him only whining._

She opened her eyes to find Drei standing over her, nose on her cheek as he licked her.

"It was just a dream..." she whispered. But as she thought about it - that dream could one day turn real. It had _felt_ so real.

Drei could sense her anxiety and placed a paw on her lap. She stroked his head and tried to put the thought out of her mind by grabbing _Violet's Garden_ and starting to read.

* * *

A/N

: This may be the last chapter for a little bit. I need to try and think of how the story will go from here for Yang's perspective. I was planning an OC to take Ruby's place, but if any of you have a better idea for Yang's teammates then please leave a review.

For those of you scared I'll convert Ruby and make her go back to Yang, Tai and Qrow. Pfft, God no. I've seen way too many good stories get ruined that way. Its boring and that's why when I do evil characters, they will not go good (as far as I am concerned at this point of time.) but rest assured, Ruby is _not_ going to be on the good side.

Thanks for reading and stay healthy!


	7. 2

Ruby gave a groan as the lights were thrown on. "Whaaaat?" She mumbled, tucking her head under her blankets.

"Up, Ruby! We have places to be!" Roman's chipper voice announced as Drei jumped on Ruby's bed.

"Fine." A sleepy teenager poked from the covers only to be attacked by Drei. She shoved his face away and rolled out of bed, and Roman left. With a moan, Ruby rubbed her eyes and saw the clock display 2:07 in bright red numbers. "For fuck's _sake_, Roman!" She yelled.

"Language!" Roman called back as chipper as ever. "Get ready, we're leaving in three minutes."

"Hypocrite!" Ruby shouted and started going through her dresser.

"Love ya too, kid!" Roman responded.

"Drei, turn around." Ruby muttered and the doberman obeyed. She got dressed quickly and brushed her hair before taking the ponytail out. She slid the rubber band onto her wrist so she could braid it again in the car. "Love you buddy!" Ruby blew Drei a kiss, who barked happily as Ruby snatched two protein bars and a water bottle before using her semblance to get out the door and down to the lot where Roman and Neo waited in the car.

_'About time.'_

"Shut up." Ruby muttered. Neo smiled as the girl tore into a protein bar. "Okay, _now_ can you tell me why in hell we're awake at two in the morning?" She demanded.

"Crazy bitch lady wants to see us again." Roman responded.

Ruby sighed and crumpled up the wrapper before starting to braid her hair. "Of _course_ its _her_." She sighed.

"I'm not too thrilled either - trust me." Roman told her.

"Neo, can I have your thermos?" Ruby asked. Neo clutched the container close to her chest before flipping Ruby off. "Come on! I just want a sip, please!" She exclaimed. Neo shook her head and Ruby lunged as far as the seatbelt would let her in an attempt to steal Neo's coffee.

"Never took you for a coffee person, Red. But with what Neo does to her coffee I bet would have you bouncing around Remnant for the next seventeen years." Roman commented.

"I. Need. Caffeineeeee!" Ruby wailed, Neo sighed and signed.

_'If it makes you shut up. One sip, that's it.'_ Ruby all but ripped the thermos from the mute's hands and took as big of a sip as she could muster. _'Stop being greedy!' _Neo snatched it from her immediatly. The coffee was sweet on Ruby's tongue - hell, it barely even _tasted_ like actual coffee. It was no secret that Ruby and Neo had serious sweet tooths, and it drove Roman up the wall when he had to buy more sugary treats to placate both girls.

There had been one incident where there was no sweets left, several years ago. Roman was still scarred from the rage of the two.

"Thank you, Neo." Ruby said earnestly. Neo smiled softly and nodded to her.

"How about some ja-" Roman started to speak,

"No!" _'No!' _Both girls snapped at him. Ruby took it a step further. "Your music sucks, i'd rather get eaten by a beowolf then listen to Acheive Man again!"

"Hey!" Roman exclaimed.

"He has no comeback because he likes my music." Ruby stage-whispered to Neo, who smiled and nodded.

"You both are insufferable." Roman sighed as they arrived.

When they arrived at the warehouse, Cinder waited for them with a sleepy Emerald leaning against a wall. Mercury was slumped against the same wall, but clearly asleep. He was snoring.

"Good, you came." Cinder told them. Ruby found herself leaning slightly on Neo, who looked only just slightly more awake than Emerald.

Roman and Cinder walked out of earshot and Neo offered her thermos again to Ruby, who gratefully drank.

"Any idea why the hell we all were dragged here.." Ruby gave a giant yawn "If those two just talk and never incorperate _us_?"

Emerald shook her head, Neo shrugged.

After what felt like ages, Roman finally came back to collect Ruby and Neo.

"Fucking bitch..." Roman growled and produced a piece of paper. "Do my bidding! Here are my _groceries_. Kill these people, rob these stores. _Paint my damn finger and toenails_!" He spat, reaching for his lighter and a cigar.

He proceeded to put the paper in his mouth to grabba cigar. Lit the paper in his mouth, mistaking if for the cigar. And started screeching. "Fuck! Fuck!" while he stomped out the flames.

"That's one way to evade your responsibilities." Ruby commented as this time Roman actually lit the cigar.

"Shut the hell up, Red." Roman snapped. As a reward for pissing Roman off, Neo let Ruby drink from her thermos of nearly-but-not-overly too sweet coffee.

* * *

Uh hi. I wrote this at 5am. Really short because I need a note.

So, 1) I now have Discord server: 5AYbh. It will encompass all of my main stories and be a chance for you to talk to others who enjoy One Mans Trash Is Another's Treasure.

2) i've narrowed the choice down. The two choices for the Ruby-replacement is now either Illia or an OC whose details I will list below.

Name: Rain Myrsky

Sex: Female

Weapon: Crossbow

Backstory: The daughter of Alder Myrsky, Rain has a vendetta against the criminal Red who killed her father in cold blood. She enrolled in Beacon to become a huntress for the sole purpose of avenging her father. She was raised by her older brother, Garnet after their mother killed herself following Alder's murder.

There's more to her, but I'll let you all choose who you want.

Illia? Or Rain? Leave a review voting who it will be. I'll decide when I write the next chapter.

(Ey, its 5:55 am)

Thank you, I'm going to now sleep.


	8. Beacon

Chapter 3: Beacon

Yang waited on the launching pad, there was the sound of students up the row getting flung and she smiled as she felt the ground under her vanish. Wind whipped her face and she gave an exclaimation of joy while firing off a few blasts from Ember Celica.

_Guess we'll see where the die roll. _She thought as she rolled to a halt. The blonde started traveling, until a growling came from up ahead. A pack of beowolves was surrounding a girl in white.

Yang grinned and launched forward, smashing her gauntlet into the side of the face of a beowolf as the girl suddenly lunged forward and struck a beowolf in the chest. They dispatched the Grimm easily enough, and the girl met Yang's eyes. "Yang Xiao Long! Nice to meet you!" She held her hand up.

"Weiss Schnee." The girl responded, but didn't take the hand. Instead Weiss started walking deeper into the forest. Yang shrugged and followed her.

"So, you know where we're going?" Yang asked, Weiss didn't turn and just kept walking.

"Of course I do." She said.

It was about a half hour before Yang sighed. "Are you _sure_ you know where you're going?" She asked. Weiss spun around

"I am, why are you assuming I don't? Its right up ahead, I'm sure of it!" Weiss declared. Yang rolled her eyes as Weiss kept walking.

About twenty minutes later, Yang asked again. "You said it was "right up ahead". Why aren't we there yet?"

Weiss growled. "Yang. Just shut up! I know where we're going!" She snapped.

"Sure you do." Yang said, Weiss threw her arms in the air.

"_Fine_, Xiao Long. If you're so sure about us being in the wrong direction - you lead!" She told Yang, who shrugged.

"I didn't say I knew where we are. But if you insist." Yang winked and shut her eyes before spinning in rapid circles.

"What are you doing?!" Weiss demanded. Yang reached an arm out and pointed in a radom direction.

"This way!" She said when she stopped. Yang shook her head rapidly to dispel her dizziness.

They started walking. "Well if I wasn't going the right direction, I doubt your method will reap us any sort of reward!" Weiss huffed after a few minutes.

"Ssh!" Yang held a hand up. "I hear something."

There was voices.

"Illia, its not a problem."

"Blake, I know. I'm just worried."

"Well we'll be safe here in Beacon. Don't worry."

Yang picked up the pace until two heads came into view. "Hello!" She called. The girls turned around.

"Oh, hi." The brown-haired girl said, the noirette next to her nodded.

"You guys know where the temple is?" Yang asked.

"Yes. I just checked from over the trees. Should be coming up on our right side any minute." The brown haired girl informed Yang.

"I'm Yang and this is Weiss." Yang introduced. Both the girls' demeanors shifted slightly, but Weiss was oblivious.

"I'm Illia." The brown-haired girl spoke.

"Blake." The noirette added. Their voices seemed a bit stiff, and Illia kept glancing at Weiss while they walked.

When the arrived, Yang bounded to the relics. "How about this!" She grabbed the pony chess piece. Blake and Illia were talking quietly, and then Illia walked forward before grabbing the other chess piece.

* * *

"Red! Time to get up!" Roman called. Ruby rolled off of her beanbag chair which she had fallen asleep in. Moonlight shone through the window in her room as she rubbed her eyes.

"Alright!" Ruby grumbled and shuffled to the door. Roman had told her to take a nap because they were going to be meeting with buissness associates tonight.

This time Neo took pity on her and gave Ruby a tumbler with some coffee in it. Unfortunatly, Ruby had recently become addicted to the substance and insisted she had some daily.

Ruby took a deep sip from it as the trio walked out. Drei's leash was held by Roman and he leapt into the backseat by Ruby.

The drive was in silence before they pulled to the outskirts of the city where an abandoned warehouse was. Ruby smiled, it was actually the one they trained Ruby in. Shelves were everywhere and there was some furnature bent out of shape from training. Drei barked and Roman unleashed him. "Red, go sweep and check for intruders or anything abnormal." He told Ruby. She nodded and about a minute later she was finished with her sweep.

"Nothing!" She reported. Roman pulled out his Scroll.

"Good. I gotta make a call. Can you watch the door?" He asked. Ruby nodded.

She knew "Can you go watch the door" was Roman's own way of saying "You aren't exactly suppossed to know what we're doing right now."

She walked to the door and pulled out her Scroll. After a moment's hesitation she opened up the CCT Web and pulled up a private search bar. _Ruby Rose Missing Patch_ she typed in the key phrases quickly and looked around before hitting "enter".

There was a loading bar that filled up before thepage refreshed to show several articles.

There was missing posters and pleas for information on her. Ruby saw a few lists of numbers and saw Yang's Scroll number. Her finger paused before she copied the number into her contacts. Immedatly she regretted doing so.

_Why are you doing this, they'll think you're betraying them_. Her mind whispered. _No, _Ruby shook her head. _I'm not. Its just to keep tabs on her._ She tried to lie to herself. Her shoulders slumped. _I'll keep it - just in case._ She told herself and nodded. _That's what I'll do._

That out of the way, Ruby closed the tab and innocently opened Grimm bashers to pass the time.

Finally Roman and Neo's meeting was over and they all went home.

* * *

A/N

: I _said_ there would be a break. Screw that. Overwhelming you guys all agree Illia was to replace Ruby. I may find a way to incorperate Rain into the story at some point.

Ok, now for the actual reason there may be a small break: I have no idea what the team name will be. Submit your mash-up and what it stands for.

Example: RWBY (Ruby)

Please use the letters of W, I, B, and Y only. Remember that whoever is the first letter is the team-leader, so place that into consideration.

I will _not_ work on the next chapter until I found the perfect team name. It pains me because I love this story, but the next few events will be swapping between Ruby and Yang's perspectives. I'm sorry for how short the last few chapters have been, but I nedd there to be a team name before I can continue writing.

Also, I have a Discord server for those of you interested in it. Code is 5AYbh

Thank you for reading and I'll see you all in the next chapter!


	9. Deliberation

Chapter 4: Deliberation

Ruby was at a park, green eye contacts were in and her long hair that reached mid-way down her back was in a ponytail. Drei lay next to her with his head on her lap as they sat against a tree.

She was staring at her Scroll, pondering as her finger hovered over the newest addition to her contacts. A whine drew the criminal's attention and Drei placed a paw on her leg. Looking at Drei, Ruby closed her Scroll and set it down next to her. After a moment, her hand went back to it, only for a paw to slam down onto it. Golden eyes bore into green, and Drei whined again.

"I know, its pointless..." Ruby sighed in defeat, shoulders slumping. Drei removed his paw and Ruby let her hand drop. A few seconds passed before she grabbed it and opened it up. Suddenly Drei's snout was centimeters away from her face and he barked. "I get it." She muttered and shoved his face away. Ruby ignored his affronted look and let her hand continue to hover indecisivly over her contacts.

Drei's head turned and Ruby lifted her own to see Neo walk up to her. _'Why did I just _know_ I'd find you here?'_ The mute asked by way of greeting. Ruby shrugged, closing her Scroll and pocketing it.

"I don't know." She replied. Neo rolled her eyes.

_'Just text Yang already. Not that hard.'_ She informed Ruby, making the younger girl do a double take.

"Wha...tever do you mean by that, Neo?" Ruby recovered. Neo's eyes narrowed and she gave her a look of "Nice going you utter fool".

_'Don't play dumb kid. I've seen you stare at your Scroll for hours and days on end.'_ Ruby's face burned.

"I'm sorry..." Ruby muttered on a reflex, trying to deflect Neo's critism. The mute frowned and walked in front of Ruby to flick her forehead. "Ow!" She hissed, rubbing her forehead. Neo smirked. "Oh shut up already!" She spat, standing up.

_'Congrats. I just pickpocketed you.' _Neo smirked and when Ruby reached to grab her, the mute shattered and her eyes widened.

"Neo!" Ruby shouted and looked wildly around. Her eyes landed on Drei. "Drei, boy. Find Neo!" She told him. The doberman yawned and laid down, flashing a grin at Ruby with a lolling tongue. The girl threw her arms in the air "Aaugh! You're no help today!" She told him and activated her semblance to search for Neo. "Drei, go home." She told the dog, switching out his collars to one that had an informational tag that read _"I'm not lost, I know my way home."_

She was halfway across town when she realized the obvious: If Neo wasn't at the ice cream parlor or one of the warehouses (she already checked all those places), than that ment she was at _home_.

"I'm going to eat all your ice cream when I find you and burn your DVD of _Love More Than Likely_." She spat and let the petals trail behind her while she practiaclly flew to the apartment. "NEO!" She roared, slamming the door open. Looking around, Hush was leaning against a wall next to Melodic Cudgel.

"Red, what in the hell is going on?" Roman demanded, walking from the bathroom in his robe and toweling off his hair. "Did Neo burn your smut?" He asked. Ruby gaped at the criminal like a fish. Roman waved a hand "You're not exactly _inconspicuous_ about having the covers swapped. Not to mention you always throw that book away from you like its on fire every time I walk in." He stated. Ruby's face burned as she covered it with her hands.

"No. She took my damn Scroll!" She snapped, marching to the duo's bedroom. Ruby practically splintered the wood as she hammered on it. "NEO! Open up, damn you!" She snarled.

"Language!" Roman chided, "And if you break the door, you buy and install a new one!" He added.

Ruby didn't heed this warning, instead walking away from the door as Roman's eyes widened - practically sensing her intent as rose petals started forming around her. "I'm not kidding about the-" he started, saying but Ruby activated her semblance before hurtling like a bullet at the door. The poor thing never stood a chance as wood shattered on impact, pieces flying into the room like shrapnel. She found Neo smiling in a chair as she waved Ruby's Scroll in the air. "Door..." Roman finished belatedly.

"Give. It. To. Me!" Ruby roared savagely, stalking forward with a hand outreached. Neo raised her other hand to flip her off while sticking her tongue out. "NEO!" She screamed, flying forward. Neo shattered before her and she continued through the illusion before slamming into the wall face first. "SONVABITCH!" She yelled in reaction, falling back and pressing a hand to her nose. She was stupid for not putting her aura up at that time. Thus now her nose hurt like a cannonball had just been hurled it.

"Language!" Roman called. Ruby glowered at the broken door, where Neo was just beyond as she leaned on Hush - which had seemed to magically appear in her hands in the span of a few seconds.

"Oh for the love of..." Ruby hissed, still holding her nose. "Drei! Get my Scroll!" She ordered. Drei looked at Ruby, then to Neo, and yawned before flashing his doggy grin at the two girls. Ruby sighed, "Forget I asked..." she muttered.

Neo smirked and twirled Hush, eliciting another sigh from Ruby. "Fine! You win!" She declared, slumping a bit. She could _sometimes_ take Neo unarmed. But the moment Hush came into play and Ruby didn't have Dark Glory, it became a whole different ballpark.

Neo smirked, resting Hush now across her shoulders. Ruby shook head. "Can I _please_ have my Scroll back?" She asked. Neo removed a hand from Hush to put to her chin in an exaggerated display of being in deliberation. "Sometime today would be nice." Ruby added. Neo's eye color swapped, and the silver-eyed theif rolled her eyes.

Neo made her decision, and shook her head, flipping Ruby off again as she pocketed the girl's Scroll.

Ruby was fuming, to say the least. Roman noticed, fortunatly. Or else things may have ended much differently.

"Alright, Neo. You had your fun - give Red her Scroll back or her calling card may be found in your cadaver next." He told the mute, who pouted.

Ruby gave a quiet breath of releif when Neo handed her the Scroll back.

"Did you do anything?" Ruby growled, holding the technology to her chest. Neo put a finger on her chin, looking up. Ruby growled. "Neo..." the mute covered her mouth as her shoulders moved when she silently giggled. Finally she looked at Ruby and shook her head.

"Alright, care to explain what on Remnant _that_ was about?" Roman asked. Neo raised her hands to sign, Ruby all but hurled herself at Neo and grabbed the mute's hands.

"Nothing! Nothing of importance!" Ruby declared. "_Right, Neo?_" She growled. Neo hesistated but nodded. "See? She just pulled a prank and took my Scroll. Drei, back up my story!"

Drei barked, head picking up from his paws as he was laying on the kitchen floor. Looking between Ruby and Neo, he sighed and put his head back down.

"See?" Ruby asked. Roman rolled his eyes. "Fine. I won't question you two." He agreed.

Ruby nodded and walked to her room before hurling herself on her bed. _Neo... _she thought, and gave a groan. That hadn't been fun.

* * *

"Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren and Nora Valkerie. You four have retreived the white rook pieces and will be known now as Team Juniper, led by. Jaune Arc." Ozpin said.

"H-huh? Led by?" Jaune asked.

"Congratulations, young man." Ozpin told Jaune. After that, Yang was up.

"Ilia Amitola, Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long. You four have recovered the white knight pieces, and will be known now as team Basil, led by, Blake Belladonna." Ozpin told the four.

The newly-made leader of Team BSIL blinked, slight shock covering her face. Ilia smiled gently up at her, reassuring her partner and friend silently.

Yang smiled at her new leader, shooting finger guns Blake's way. The team leader rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's go." Blake muttered, walking down from the platform.

Yang was suddenly aware of her own partner staring knives at the back of Blake's head. "Whoa there, Ice Queen. No need to be so uptight about this." She reassured Weiss.

Now that glare was directed at _her_. Great. But at least Blake was spared.

* * *

Ruby sighed. Drei sat at the warehouse door and barked. "Is it 'Fang?" She asked the dog. Drei sniffed the air and barked again. "Come in." She called. A White Fang grunt wheeled a crate in.

Ruby commanded Drei to walk next to the grunt, and started leading the Fang member to where Roman and Neo were waiting.

She saw Roman slam his Scroll down, and lit up his cigar.

"Roman." Ruby spoke, grabbing his attention. He waved his hand.

"Thanks, Red, Drei." He told the two. Ruby nodded and walked off when Roman commanded Drei to stay behind to watch the transaction.

A few mintues later they were walking out of the warehouse to where Neo waited in the car.

"_Ruby. I want to talk to you when we get home._" Neo signed. Ruby sighed and nodded reluctantly. It was obvious as to what the matter at heart was.

Getting home seemed to take seconds, and now Ruby was cornered in her own room by Neo.

Ruby blinked, and Yang took Neo's place. Neo tilted her head and held her hands in the air in a "well?" gesture. Knowing what Neo was implying, Ruby sighed.

"No. I haven't contacted Yang." She told Neo, who frowned. Than Roman was standing in Yang's place. "Yeah. You already know that's why." She replied to the silent question. Neo transformed back to herself, and Ruby sighed. "Neo, its a stupid idea. I should just delete the number..." She muttered. Neo narrowed her eyes as they swapped colors.

"_Just do it. She won't know its you._" Neo told her. Ruby looked at her Scroll, and opened it. Neo nodded encouragingly.

She closed the Scroll again and put it away.

"No. I can't, Neo..." She murmured. Neo frowned.

"_I'll remind you everyday until you do it._" Neo told her. Ruby nodded sadly.

"I know you will." She mumbled, looking at the floor.

When she looked up, Neo had left her room. Glancing at her Scroll, a bark drew her attention away from the string of numbers that shone on the screen.

Drei's golden eyes stared at her. Ruby closed the Scroll again and tossed it on her bed.

"I know. I won't, Drei." She told him softly. The golden eyes blinked and he gave a soft grunt before walking to her with the tapping of claws. He leapt on Ruby's bed and laid on it. Ruby pet him softly. "I doubt I ever will..."

* * *

**A/N: Yes, Drei wants Ruby to not contact Yang. I'd like to say that due to a story I read called "Don't Bite Off More Than You Can Chew" it gave me the idea of dogs having aura and semblances. Yes. Drei has his aura and semblanve unlocked. His semblance is non-combative. Basically he can understand people - on a deeper level than a dog should. An example is that he understands human speech perfectly, and can understand what the problem is. He sided with Roman, knowing the danger that it could pose. This is heightened by the fact that he watched Yang fight Roman and the henchman. He doesn't want anything to happen to his family. **


	10. Sighting

Chapter 5: Sighting

Cinder Fall knew she had been destined for greatness. She had been promised the Fall Maiden's power — and nearly got it as well! But fate had its way of screwing it up.

Life was always there and interested in packing a few surprises for her. And that's how she found out that Roman Torchwick was the boss of the criminal named Red. She had heard tales of the girl, and seen the news reports. But seeing Red in person was... underwhelming.

She had been expecting a killer, someone who looked ready to murder the whole club they had been in if given the command. But no. She was faced with a small girl who couldn't be any older than fifteen.

And to top off the small mountain of shell-shocking revelations about the Vale renowned criminal: she had silver eyes. Not grey eyes. _Silver_.

How shitty could her luck _get_?

"Ma'am?" Emerald asked, snapping Cinder out of her thoughts.

"Yes, Emerald?" Cinder asked.

"She's wondering if you finally had a stroke after staring at the wall for the past half an hour." Mercury flippantly informed her. Cinder shot the boy a glare, and he raised his hands in surrender. "What? I'm just saying things as it is." He told Cinder.

"No. I'm just... thinking. Red is valuable to Roman, and I see her worth myself... But Salem doesn't know of Red having silver eyes. If we take her out, we may lose Roman's support..." She mused aloud.

"I don't know. That girl with the umbrella seemed creepy." Mercury shrugged.

"She's also a highly skilled fighter that puts Roman and Red to shame in combat from what I hear. Neopolitan... Such a unique person. Apparently she's close to Red. If we harm the girl, Neopolitan will come after us - Roman too." Cinder replied.

"What about their dog?" Emerald piped up. "The informat mentioned it."

"They have a dog?" Mercury asked, crossing his arms and cocking an eyebrow.

"Yes. I gathered a few reports from people who have worked with Red and Roman. They all say its not a dumb animal. Some swore it understood what they were saying, and Red talks to it like its a human. Apparently is has its aura unlocked, and is a competant guard dog. They use it as a scout and it's bite is far worse than its bark." Cinder relayed the information.

"Interesting..." Mercury muttered, obviously not actually caring. "What breed?"

"Doberman." Cinder replied.

"Why not a pomeranian? Sounds like something Red or the silent girl would like better." Mercury asked.

"The dog belongs to Red." Emerald told him before Cinder had to herself. "I don't think we should get on its bad side either."

Cinder nodded. "Neopolitan and Red are close with the dog. If we try to harm it — they may withdraw support."

"Well," Mercury rocked back in his chair "What are we gonna do, boss?"

Cinder regarded the silver haired boy calmly. "We'll take all these factors into account for our final plan." She told him.

=

Yang awoke on her own to see Blake and Ilia enter the dorm room. The team leader cast a glance at the still asleep Weiss before meeting Yang's gaze. 

"Morning!" Yang chirped, springing out of bed. Blake nodded a greeting as she approached her.

"Perhaps one of us should wake... _Weiss_ up." Ilia suggested softly — and Yang noticed how the girl hesistated before saying the blonde's partner's name. 

"Sure!" Yang agreed and walked to Weiss's bed. "Rise and shine, sleepy head!" She declared, snagging the pillow from her own bed and throwing it at Weiss. 

The heiress jerked awake with a scream as ice blue eyes swept across the room. "What on Remnant are you DOING?" Weiss demanded upon seeing Yang's smirk.

"Waking you up?" Yang asked innocently and crossed her arms. Weiss huffed. 

"Well I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't use your brutish ways. A pillow to the face isn't the best way to be woken up." Yang's partner told her. 

Yang rolled her eyes at this. "Sure. Duly noted, Princess." She replied. Weiss sighed and got out of bed. 

"Alright fearless leader, what's the first order of business?" Ilia asked her partner. Yang watched Blake's golden eyes flick across the room.

"Unpacking." The noirette decided after a moment. 

It was a while before everything was in place... Except for the beds.

"How about bunk beds?" Yang suggested. Weiss scowled at her as Blake seemed to take it into consideration. Ilia was silent, her eyes sweeping around the room.

"No! Its dangerous!" Weiss declared. Blake raised a placating hand the heiress's direction. 

"It'll be efficient." Their leader decided.

"Well - but - lets put it to a vote!" Weiss demanded. 

"Alright," Yang drawled. "All in favor of bunk beds raise your hand!" 

Blake, Ilia and her own hand shot up. Weiss quipped "I thought _Blake_ was team leader." To which Yang poked a finger at her nose.

"And Blakey isn't complaining, is she?" Yang asked rhetorically. Weiss fumed. "All opposed?" Weiss threw both her arms in the air with a flustered face. "Seems that we're getting bunk beds!" Yang cheered.

Blake and Ilia used Blake's books to prop up the second bed. Weiss and Yang remained, debating.

"Oh come on, Weiss! Its _rope_. It'll be fine!" Yang told her. Weiss shook her head before lifting her chin defiantly.

"It'll fray over time and than snap — I don't want to become a bed sandwhich with a blonde on top of it all!" Weiss retorted. "We'll be here for four years! That rope won't stay that way forever!" She added.

Yang rolled her eyes. "Chill out, Weiss. Nothing's gonna happen!" When all Weiss did was roll her eyes in response, Yang gave a look to Blake. "Fearless leader o' ours, guide us and tell Weiss why she's being stupid!" She asked.

Ilia rolled her eyes and elbowed Blake's ribcage — their team leader had buried her nose in a book. The nudge from her partner eliceted a soft "Oh?" From Blake as her head shot up.

"Can you tell Yang her idea is stupid? Rope isn't enough to support both a bed and Yang!" Weiss told Blake.

The noirette sighed and put a bookmark in her book before putting it aside. But before their team leader could speak, Ilia cleared her throat.

"Guys, we should go." The girl suggested, "Class is starting in a few minutes." Her words caused them all to cast a glance to the alarm clock.

"Oh _crap_!" Yang declared. Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Let's get going." The heiress suggested, and led the charge out of the dorm in order to get to class on time.

* * *

Ruby relaxed at the park. Drei was chasing someone else's dog and Neo was nearby, just picking dandelions.

Reaching into the bag again, she threw small pieces of bread and bread crumbs to the birds as they flocked to ger feet.

Her Scroll buzzed — Roman.

_Hey kiddo, Psycho Bitch wants a meeting in ten. Can you and Neo get your asses over at our usual place before she sears me like a rotisserie chicken and feeds me to Drei?_

Ruby snickered and stood up. "Hey, we gotta go. Our boss wants us at the office in ten or his manager's gonna roast him." She told Neo when she reached her. The mute nodded and Ruby called Drei to her with a whistle.

Walking back to the bench she had been sitting on — Ruby and Neo saw to their ire a young black haired girl was looking through Ruby's bag.

"Hey!" Ruby yelled and ran at the girl, who grabbed the bag and started running. Drei snarled and Ruby grinned. "Take her down!" She declared to the doberman, who charged ahead and slammed into the girl - pinning her easily as Ruby retreived her bag.

'_Maybe learn to not take so long to take what you need next time_.' Neo signed with a smile as she scratched Drei's ears. The doberman smiled and Ruby looked through her stuff before telling him he could get off the girl.

"You're lucky we have places to be!" Ruby grumbled and threw the rest of her bag's contents to the ground for the birds. Several pigeons and small finches flocked to the spot immediatly, but than a large crow scattered them all to take the crumbs for itself.

The two girls and dog didn't pay much attention to that though, even when the crow picked its head up and stared at Ruby with dull crimson eyes.

* * *

_I'm too drunk for this..._ Was the thought Qrow had. It was possibly the only time he ever had this particular thought pop into his brain.

Maybe the alcohol was screwing his brain up, making him hear his niece's voice even when she had been gone for years.

"Qrow?" Tai called. His friend walked Qrow's way.

"Oooh," Qrow slurred slightly "Hey Tai." The blonde man looked him up and down.

Taiyang Xiao Long suddenly sighed. "You turned into a bird again and ate crumbs from pedestrians, didn't you?" He asked. Qrow couldn't help but laugh.

"How... how can you tell?" Qrow asked between bouts of laugher as he banged his fist on the table. His chair leg buckled under him when he leaned back in his chair and sent him sprawling — causing the drunken man to laugh even more. "God damn, Tai!" He exclaimed and laughed even more, rolling on the ground. His teammate sighed.

"Qrow. Alcohol and your semblance don't mix." He explained. Qrow sat up and grinned.

"Jeez mr. Buzzkill. You sure are acting a _whole_ lot like my sister!" He raised his hands up mockingly. "I hope I didn't offend ya!" Qrow cackled and rolled on the ground.

Taiyang sighed again, and walked away. "Talk to me when your sober!" He called over his shoulder.

Qrow could only grin. "Mayybe I will.." he drawled.

That was all he remembered before waking up again the next day with the headache of the century.

* * *

A/N:

I'm SO sorry about the formatting in the Yang/Beacon scene. I can't get the mistake to go away with everything being center aligned. I've tried and tried fixing it over and over but its persistant as hell. I apologize heavily for it, and I'll see if there's a way to prevent it in future chapters.


	11. Assassination

Chapter 6: Assassination

Ruby pushed the warehouse door open, entering with Drei and Neo not far behind her.

"About time." Mercury scoffed, standing up straight after leaning his back against a shelving unit. "Cinder's been impatient."

Ruby rolled her eyes as the silver haired boy followed them until they reached the "meeting area" where Roman was sitting on a crate with Emerald and Cinder also perched on seperate crates.

"Good. You two arrived at _last_." Cinder purred. Ruby wanted to flinch as golden eyes seared through her soul. Ruby felt Drei shift his weight so he was lightly pressed against her leg. Whether it was for his comfort or Ruby's, she had no clue. "Sit and we can start." The woman waved a hand to two crates near Roman, which Neo and Ruby sat on. Cinder nodded to Roman, who stood up with Melodic Cudgel in his grasp. If he wasn't wearing gloves, Ruby would have bet he was clutching his weapon so tight his knuckles were white.

"So Neo, Red, and myself have been very busy. We've amassed quite a mountain of lien and Dust, and I am sure our buisness partners have been doing the same. We'll have enough firepower to fill this warehouse from floor to ceiling and wall to wall soon." Roman explained. Cinder nodded and motioned for him to sit again.

"Good." Cinder smiled, but it reminded Ruby of a wolf baring its teeth. "I'm sure you are wondering why _all_ of us are here. Its because I have more for you to do." Ruby, Roman and Neo exchanged an exhasperated glance. "But," Cinder continued, "You won't be doing it alone. Our partners have some _valuable_ assets that they are loaning us."

The moment Cinder finished speaking, a woman appeared from seemingly nowhere behind Cinder. A pair of black ears perched tall upon her head and amber eyes swept through the warehouse.

"I am Sable Kage," The faunus introduced herself "I was sent on behalf of the White Fang to assist in an important task."

Cinder's eyes flicked to Sable and the faunus looked at the woman. "As she has said, Sable is a valuable asset. Her semblance is to be able to become one with shadows — an invaluable ability. She is a skilled fighter, and will assist you three on an important mission."

Roman looked a bit irritated, "So what is this "important mission" that you guys are babbling about?" He asked.

Sable walked his way, her boots making no sound. Stopping before him, she told the criminal "We have a high priority target we need taken out." Sable reached into a pouch on her hip and withdrew a scroll. It opened up and a photo of a man in a suit was shown. "This is Tawny Bay. A prominant figure in politics. He has an agenda against faunus progression and the reason he is such a threat to us is that he has Huntsman training. He retired to take up politics, and is a good fan of ruining faunus-owned buissness." Sable explained, rage flickered in her eyes as she spoke. Closing the scroll, the faunus released a short exhale. "We need some skilled mercenaries to eliminate him. Fortunatly we have a renowned murderer among us in this room."

At that, Mercury smirked and flexed his arm as if showing off. Roman shook his head and used Melodic Cudgel to smack him in the stomach, as he was close enough to Roman for the action to be done. Ruby rolled her eyes, but realization dawned. "Me?" She asked. Sable nodded.

"Of course. What better way to cause more trouble is a relevant threat to Vale taking out a politician?" She asked. Ruby nodded and looked Cinder's way.

"That was all. You have until Wednesday." Cinder spoke and stood up.

"I'll be in contact." Sable handed Ruby a slip of paper before walking to a faint shadow cast by a crate and seeming to sink into it.

"Lets get going." Roman suggested and led the way back out from the warehouse to the car. As they drove, Ruby pulled out her scroll and started doing her research on her target.

"Drei," she murmured "Take a look at this. He's known for betting on _dog fights_." The doberman's golden eyes hardened and his posture stiffened. "Sick bastard." Ruby growled. Neo turned around and reached a hand back, silently asking for the scroll. Ruby obliged and saw from the backseat, Neo's jaw clenched and she handed the scroll back.

_'Sick bastard indeed. He breeds them too!' Ruby growled. Drei gave a soft "whoof" to draw the girls attention.  
_

"Drei, he breeds and raises dogs to fight to the death. Apparently he lets them kill puppies of a few months old to get a taste for dog blood." Ruby explained, barely containing her rage. Drei growled for a moment before it died down. "We'll do what we can, boy." She patted his head. "We'll bring him to justice. I swear."

Suddenly what was just a normal contract became more personal, with how hard it had hit home with Drei.

* * *

The next night, Ruby and Neo arrived at the front of a cafe. Darkness was everywhere around them, and Sable was nowhere in sight.

Suddenly behind a lamppost Sable emerged from its shadow and approached. She wore black clothes and a White Fang mask. Unlike the plain ones Ruby had been used to seeing from grunts, Sable's had red marks that indicated she held some importance of rank, alongside the mask's sides somewhat looking like tufts of cheek fur to make it stand out more from other masks.

Even from behind the mask, Ruby could feel the gaze of Sable briefly land on her before the faunus' attention swept elsewhere as she surveyed the area around them.

"You know where to go. I'll meet you up there." Was all Sable said before stepping back into the shadow and vanishing.

Neo led the way to the house, easy enough to spot due to them being in the classier part of Vale. Ruby's hand instinctivly brushed against Dark Glory's hilt, fingers drumming on it as they surveyed the house.

She sensed something behind her and Sable emerged from her shadow.

"Before we begin," Sable walked around Ruby so she faced both Ruby and Neo "If things go south and we are captured and taken into custody, you should take this." She grabbed a small bag that contained three tiny black bottles and gave Neo and Ruby each a bottle. She had a clue as to what was within, and when she opened the bottle and peered inside, the content confirmed her suspicion.

"Potassium cyanide. Used as suicide pills." She murmured. The content was a single tiny white pill. Neo looked at her own bottle with suspicion. Ruby voiced the mute's thoughts. "If this goes south, you want us to off ourselves?" She asked. Sable nodded.

"Its the logical course of action. We do not want to be caught and tortured. I'm sure the Vale Police Department would be _thrilled_ to interview the fabled Red." Sable explained. Neo's weight shifted slightly towards Ruby, and the girl knew what was going through the mute's mind.

"I'll be fine." Ruby told Neo, and her words did little to soothe her. Neo gave Ruby a look, worry clear. "I promise I'll be safe."

Sable cleared her throat. "We're wasting time," the fox faunus stated. Ruby gave Neo a final reassuring look. "We all have our role. Neo shall scout and disable alarms, we'll get to the office. Red and I will enter and take him out."

Ruby blurted out "What about the dogs he has?" She could feel Sable's gaze pierce her again.

"Focus on Bay. He takes _all_ priority. Extra goals may be achieved as long as it is safe." Sable told her. Ruby understood and nodded. "Let's move."

* * *

Roman rubbed the side of his face, looking at Drei. He had a bad feeling, a terrible gut feeling about this mission.

"You seem... tense, Mr. Torchwick." A woman walked next to him. "Are you worried for your children's job?" She asked. Roman looked up and met amber eyes that were identical to Sable's.

Roman reached for a cigar and lit it, trying to ignore the similarites. The woman noticed and kelt on the ground in front of him, a mahogany colored tail moved to curl into her lap, a perfect white tip flicked as she watched him. It was like Sable's gaze, except less intense and predatory. "I know they can handle themselves. But I guess its just your sister that rubs me the wrong way." He admitted and dragged on his cigar to steady his mind. The woman was silent for a moment, tucking a few strands of blue hair behind an ear.

"Sable has that effect on people," the woman admitted, "She's cunning and practical, and she's serious about her job. Sable will make sure the job is fufilled." She stated.

Roman could sense a "but" coming on, there was definitly something the faunus before him was hiding. She noticed his expectance, and bowed her head for a moment before lifting it again to meet his eyes. "She'll make sure the job is fufilled... at any cost." Her gaze softened and she was silent again.

"Should I worry about what she'll do to get her job done?" Roman asked hesitantly.

The woman's gaze flicked away from his for a second and remained silent.

"I'll take that as a yes, miss...?" He trailed off, waiting for her to complete his sentance. She jerked her head up and seemed a bit embarassed.

"Oh, I'm sorry for forgetting to give you my name!" She ducked her head again "I'm Sora, Sora Kage-Hisui. A pleasure to meet you!" She introduced herself.

Roman chuckled at her antics, but took note of the name. "Kage-Hisui?" He murmured. Sable had introduced herself simply as "Sable Kage" but there was no "Hisui" part to her name.

Sora took notice, "Yeah. Sab' and I are half sisters," she admitted "We share a mother, where we get our eyes, but our faunus heritages come from our fathers." She told him. Roman decided not to press further. "I'm sorry," She said suddenly, ducking her head again "I'm terrible at conversation!" She exclaimed with a slowly reddening face, eliciting a chuckle from Roman.

"Red and Neo are the same way. Neo being quite literally — she's mute, Red is just really bad with talking to people." He told Sora. His words had their desired effect, and she seemed to calm herself down a bit.

"Well at least you're used to it!" She smiled, and Roman dragged on his cigar again. He had nearly forgotten his worries for Ruby and Neo. Nearly.

Standing up, he startled Sora. "I'm sorry, did I offend you sir?" She immediatly apologized, rising to her feet. Roman waved her off.

"You're alright, I'm just going for a walk really quick." He told her.

Sora nodded and a small smile formed on her face. The woman's scroll buzzed and she sighed. "I'm sorry, I need to take this." She apologized and moved away.

Now Roman was alone with his worries. For some reason Sora's words about her sister did little to stop his growing worry.

_I'm being irrational._ He tried to tell himself. _They'll be fine._

* * *

A/N:

Two OC's I put in. Sable and Sora are two older OC's from a RWBY story that I doubt I'll ever post. What do you think of them?

Next chapter: Murphy's Law takes center stage for Ruby, Neo and Sable!


	12. Omake1

**_Been a bit, huh? I mean I've pumped out chapters for this pretty damn fast but now I've both been sidetracked by other things (Silver Shadows, and another project for fun that starts with "wolf!" has "Ruby" in the middle and ends in "AU" yes I'm going there, try and stop me.) And there's a final thing that's being a nuisance as I've written myself into a slight corner in the next actual chapter. I'll be revising and probably changing the entire chapter because it feels too early and a bit forced for what I want to do later._**

**_So instead, have an omake which is a scene that sadly never will actually appear in the main story, so don't get your hopes up for this. Maybe I'll make more omakes either about this or different scenarios. _**

**_With that, onto the omake!_**

* * *

Omake: Zwei meets Drei

**Zwei**

Zwei was walking next to his master. He was relaxed as he took in the sights and scents of familiar areas.

Yet the corgi had no clue what was in store for him that day when a large dog walked down the sidewalk, heading his way.

His master murmured something, but noticed a strip of material around the other dog's neck that meant it had a master. Zwei gave a sniff, and felt something familiar about it.

_Ruby? _He sniffed. The dog's golden eyes snapped to meet his own.

_How do you know my mistress?_ The dog asked.

Zwei sniffed the dog again. Yes, it was his missing owner's scent, strong as ever, and mixed with others.

_Ruby was my owner. She vanished a long long time ago. How do you know her? _Zwei gave a small yip.

The larger dog tilted its head. _My mistress has been with me for as long as I remember. She raised me alongside master and other mistress. _It informed Zwei.

Before the conversation could continue, Zwei heard his master call him to continue their walk. _I need to go. I'm Zwei. _He told the dog.

_My name is Drei. _The other dog replied. They went their separate ways, both leaving with more questions than answers.

**Drei**

Drei continued walking, mulling over the new information he was given. His mistress had another of his kind before him. He knew their names, but mistress never spoke about having another companion before him.

_What else is she hiding?_ He wondered. Drei reached home where he barked a few times to alert his pack about his return. Master opened the door and pat his head as he trotted in.

"Drei!" Mistress called happily. Drei felt joy in his heart as he bounded to greet her. She stroked his face, kissing his snout as he let his tail whip the air.

_Mistress, you never told me that you had another of my kind! _He barked. Mistress only smiled and cooed. Drei felt a growl threaten to rumble in his chest, mistress rarely understood him — no matter how hard he tried to communicate.

So he instead laid down. Perhaps he would see Zwei again.

But his thoughts turned a bit darker.

_He said mistress vanished. Is Zwei really apart of her pack? Why would she leave? Was she driven out? Why would they do that to her?_ He walked away from mistress to his bed near a wall. His questions now brought anger in his chest. _I'll protect her and my pack at all costs! Zwei and his false pack will not hurt my mistress! _He laid down, and dreamed of protecting his mistress from the evil human and Zwei.

**Zwei**

He laid down in his own bed. _Ruby would replace me? _The corgi's ears flattened. He remembered bearing witness to her departure, the sadness in her eyes were forever engraved in his mind. _But we love her. Master is upset she is still missing._

Zwei was not a violent dog, but still he found his thoughts drifting towards terrible possibilities. _What if Ruby left because Drei forced her to! That evil dog! He stole her from us! From me! _He grit his teeth. _I'll make him pay! I'll bring Ruby home and get steak for a year!_

**_And that's a wrap! This is technically cannon, as I'm hoping that this will illuminate a few future events and why they occurred. And we also get a glimpse into the minds of Drei and Zwei. Tell me if you'd want more omakes like this in the future!_**


	13. Trap

Chapter 7: Trap

They entered the house. Sable's ears were alert as she followed behind Neo and Ruby, the former who scanned the house for any signs of danger.

Ruby glanced at Neo, silver eyes dark. It was quiet in the house, peaceful. Yet both girls felt a sense of trepidation fill them as they moved through the door and up the staircase. '_Here should be his office if I remember correctly._' Ruby signed. Neo nodded and stepped aside. Ruby turned to the mute and fox faunus before nodding and pushing the door open with one hand, the other drawing Dark Glory and getting ready to attack.

But they were met by a woman who was _not_ their target. Sitting in the office chair was a woman with dark green hair and the badge on her chest made Ruby's heart stop in her chest for a moment before beating faster.

Neo and Sable entered close behind, and Neo's eyes widened. "Oh? There's more of you." The woman nodded to Neo and Sable. "When I was told I'd find Red here, I was overjoyed. But it seems I've found a White Fang member and a wanted murderer as well! You'll be nice little bonuses. The chief will be very pleased with all of this."

"You were told I'd be here tonight?" Ruby growled, taking a step forward. To her horror, Neo gasped and the girl spun around to see a device binding Neo's arms to her sides. "Neo!" She growled, but the distraction had been complete and something slammed into her. Ruby fell to the ground, gasping as her arms were forced behind her back. She activated her semblance to escape and turned around to see a mammoth of a man slam to the ground. Ruby's mind was racing as she looked around her, three police officers were handling Neo and Sable, but the green haired woman was rising from the desk chair.

"Indeed I was. Please stop resisting arrest, Red. It only makes things harder." She pulled out a pistol and aimed it.

"You have nothing on me. A _pistol_. That's pathetic." Ruby laughed, trying to ease the panic in her chest as she heard Neo and Sable struggle.

"Red!" Sable called, reaching for Ruby. She turned around and saw a flash of dark skin as the man who tried to pin her from before was running at her with a device Ruby recognized as binds used by Atlas military.

She ducked under the man and heard the woman discharge her weapon. Ruby jumped back from the bullets as Sable head-butted one of the officers with Neo kicking another in the groin.

The red cloaked girl whirled around to try and reach her companions but the green haired woman's discharging weapon hid the sound of a binding whistling through the air. Ruby staggered as something whipped around her arms and locked in place. "No!" She gasped, feeling the force of it knock her hood back right before she lost her balance due to the man getting back up and slamming a foot into her back and pinning her.

Ruby looked up to see Sable run her way, but the three officers plus the green haired woman had blocked her. To the silver-eyed girl's dismay, the faunus's gaze hardened and Neo moved so her back was against Sable's. Neo's eyes held a promise as they both started melting into shadows.

"Stop them!" The woman screeched. The officers ran towards the duo, but it was too late as Neo and Sable escaped. "Dammit!" She snarled, but her mood changed. "At least I have _you_. You have so much to answer for, missy. I look forward to seeing what the rest of the department has to say to me catching the famous Red!" She smiled. "Allow me to get the scoop first. Who are you really?"

"I'll tell you jack shit when hell freezes over, you bitch!" Ruby spat. "But I have one question for you: Who told you I'd be here?"

The deputy squatted down in front of Ruby's face and tapped her nose with a finger. Ruby snapped her jaws at the offending finger, only to be met with a chuckle as Ruby's teeth clacked together with such force she was worried they'd chip. "Sorry dear, but I wouldn't dare reveal who informed us — even if I knew." She said. "Anonymous tips are usually bullshit, but I had a gut feeling that this one was true. And it led me right to _you_." She smiled.

"Go to hell!" Ruby spat.

"And take your spot there? I think not." The woman chuckled again and ruffled Ruby's hair.

"Ma'am. We should take the prisoner to the transport." One of the officers said.

"Oh _hush_ Holly." The woman rolled her eyes "I'd rather not ruin the moment of capturing the murderer of my husband." She sighed. "I'm sure you remember him? Owned a nice little shop downtown. You came by and killed him before taking everything he had. My daughter has no father now because of you. How does it feel?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "I feel no emotion towards your sob story. He was getting in the way of my job." She spat.

A foot slammed into her nose, Ruby had flared her aura a moment before it connected. It hurt like a stampeding Goliath, but her aura probably just saved her teeth from getting knocked in and nose smashed.

"What? Did I _offend_ you?" Ruby mocked.

"Kaffee. Sit her up." The woman growled. Ruby grinned, seeing anger in her captor's eyes. The man pinning Ruby grabbed her by the arm and pulled her upright. "You have the right to remain silent!"

Ruby kept her grin. "No, according to Valean law I have the freedom to speak my mind." She retorted.

The woman gave a growl and stood up. "Take her out to the cruiser." She spat.

Ruby's eyes narrowed in hate as she was lifted upwards and dragged by the man, Kaffee. "I can walk on my own." She snarled, getting her legs under her so she could walk.

The woman smiled and led the way victoriously out of the Bay estate before talking on her radio. "Chief, we've captured Red. She's coming into a cruiser as we speak. Yes, the tip was correct. I'll see you back at the station."

Ruby saw in dismay that one of the officers, a blond man, was carrying Dark Glory, her _baby_. She longed to feel her weapon in her hands, but seeing it in a stranger's hands made her blood boil. "Let go of my weapon! She doesn't deserve your stupid fingers all over her!" She snarled in a rage.

The officer chuckled. "Your weapon _deserves_ to be burned to scrap metal." He smiled. Ruby let loose a feral roar and her feet tried to run at the man, only for Koffee to drag her backwards.

"Let go of me! I'm going to fucking kill every one of you!" Ruby screamed as she was hauled into the cruiser and the door slammed shut. Her chest heaved with each breath as she knew there was no way out.

"You can try." The deputy said through the window. If Ruby's hands were free, she would have flipped the woman off.

* * *

Roman dragged on his cigar, Drei next to him. The doberman nudged his leg, eyes concerned. "I know, they're taking quite some time." Roman muttered to the dog. Drei whined softly, tail wagging his agreement. "It's alright, boy. I'm sure they'll be alright." He lied to both himself and Drei. "Sora knows Sable will be back. And Sable wouldn't leave Red and Neo behind." He said.

As if summoned by their (albeit one-sided) conversation, the shadows melded into the forms of Neo and Sable. Both woman staggered a bit before Neo ran to Roman, multicolored eyes showing a panic that was quickly fading. Drei barked, running in a frantic circle around the mute.

"Sab! What happened to you?!" Sora yelled, running to her sister. Roman noticed both had police restraints on them.

"Neo? What's going on? Where's Red?" Roman demanded, getting the restraints off of her and dropping them to the ground where Drei sniffed at them before growling in disgust.

Neo pat the top of Drei's head. '_It was a trap. Someone knew we'd be there trying to kill Bay. Police were waiting in his office and tried to take us all in. Apparently the green haired bitch said she was only expecting Ruby. Ruby fought with her, and Sable couldn't get to her in time without us getting captured by the other three officers.' _Neo signed, and Roman saw hate burning in her eyes.

"So Red's been captured?" He asked, Drei growled. "And who is this "green haired bitch" you were talking about?" He added.

'_I have to assume so. The green haired woman could only be deputy Iris Evergreen._' Neo signed.

"Wait, the bitch whose semblance allows her to control people?!" Roman exclaimed. Drei barked.

Neo nodded, expression grim. '_The one and only. But she wasn't using it for some reason on Ruby_.' She told Roman, who ran his fingers through his hair.

"Neo, you're wasting time." He stated. Drei locked eyes with the mute.

'_What?_' She signed, anger flickering to confusion for a moment.

"Well? Aren't you going to get her?" Roman prompted. Neo's eyes widened.

'_I'll go ahead. You keep Cinder distracted and tell her something urgent came up that requires me._' She signed.

"You know I will." Roman stated. Neo kissed the top of Drei's head and picked up a run out of the warehouse.

* * *

Ruby looked out the window through the bars on the police cruiser's window. Shame burned in her chest, she fucked everything up. Of course it had been a trap. But who could have tipped them off?

The silver eyed girl slouched down farther into her seat, letting loose a low moan as her mind raced towards darker thoughts. _They'll be reporting this, _"Red Caught! The Face of A Killer: A Fifteen Year Old Girl!" She laughed bitterly at the thought. _But... The deputy and those officers have my face. They can use technology to recreate it, and then Yang and Dad will know about me! _She felt her breathing quicken.

_Its over. I've doomed us all. What if they use me to find Roman and Neo? I fucked up. I'm sorry..._ A tear rolled down her cheek.

She felt the cruiser stop, and one of the officers started cursing. "Flat tire. Goddammit." He spat. "I'll call for a second cruiser to transport Red."

Ruby waited, and a plot suddenly popped into her mind. _When they open the door, I'll use my semblance to escape and find Neo and Roman. _She thought.

_Now I'll wait._

* * *

Sable entered a small area of the warehouse that was turned into a makeshift office for Cinder.

"Did it all go according to plan?" Cinder asked.

"Yes. Deputy Evergreen was waiting there for Red. I managed to get Neo out before anything could happen to us." Sable informed her. Cinder nodded.

"Thank you for your excellent performance. The other half of your payment, as promised." She slid a bag full of lien cards the faunus woman's way, who bowed and accepted them.

"Thank you, miss Fall." She said gratefully.

"I hope we may get a chance to work together again in the future. Miss Kage." Cinder responded.

"I agree. If you ever need me, you know how to contact me." Sable nodded.

"Very well. That will be all, Sable." Cinder said. Sable bowed at the waist and stepped into a shadow before melting into it. "Now..." She walked out of her "office" and rounded the corner. Sora had already vanished, leaving Roman and the doberman. "Neo, you're next!" She called.

Roman picked his head up from his Scroll. "Neo left, she had something urgent to attend to." He said.

Cinder repressed a growl. "Very well..." she hissed. "Roman, can you contact her and tell Neo that I demand she see me when she is finished with this _urgent_ thing?" She asked.

"Sure, sure." Roman replied flippantly.

* * *

Ruby saw the flashing of police car lights as a new cruiser pulled up. The deputy, Evergreen, walked up to the door and opened it with her pistol trained between Ruby's eyes. "Come quietly now, and we won't hurt you." She commanded. Ruby felt herself freeze up as she stared into venom green eyes. All of a sudden all of her previous thoughts of escape had vanished, and she complied with the command given.

Walking into the cruiser, the door shut and the spell was broken. "My semblance is "bewitching eyes", where I can put anyone who meets my gaze into a trance." Evergreen smiled and pat the window. "I'll see you in the interrogation room." She said.

Ruby slammed a fist on the window, frustration filling her. There was a low roar as the police car sprung to life and drove away from Evergreen's stranded car. But then the car turned away from where Ruby knew the police station was and pulled over by an alley.

Suddenly the officer strode out with a smirk, and Ruby saw two familiar eyes under the hat. "Neo!" She cried out in joy. Neo dropped the illusion and threw open the car door. Ruby sprung out and Neo walked behind her to undo the cuffs. Instead of throwing them to the curb, Neo pocketed them.

'_They might come in handy._' The mute replied to Ruby's silent question in the form of a head tilt. Neo took out her Scroll before typing to Roman. Ruby poked her head over the woman's shoulder just as she hit "send". '_Let's go home. Drei's worried about you and Roman is too._' Neo signed and took Ruby's hand.

"I can't wait to sleep." Ruby agreed and the two thieves set off on the way home.

* * *

A/N

: (July 8, 2020) Changed the Neo and Roman scene due to a bunch of you pointing out it was strange for Neo to be crying over Ruby being captured.

To answer your questions about Evergreen not using her semblance on Ruby in the first place, its because Evergreen wanted to have a challenge in capturing Red so she could relish defeating her even more. She only used her bewitching eyes to keep Ruby from escaping so the transfer went smoothly.


	14. Identity

Chapter 8: Identity

Arriving home, Drei flung himself at Ruby and the girl had little hope of defending herself against eighty pounds of pure muscle and raw canine affection.

"Drei!" Ruby screeched, throwing her arms up and windmilling them about as Drei reared up and knocked her flat on her back, covering her face and arms in doggy kisses. She giggled, rubbing his fur and wrapping her arms around him in happiness that Drei shared with her. "I'm fine! I'm alright boy!" She called, trying to shove his snout away. He paused for a moment, regarding her with stern looking golden eyes. Ruby sighed and rolled her eyes "I know, I'm not going to let myself be captured again." She told him. Drei sighed and laid down across Ruby, effectively pinning her to the ground. "Hey! Get — off!" She huffed and pushed him off of her, springing to her feet before the doberman could recover.

"Now with that out of the way," She dusted herself off and gave a sideways glare the canine's way. He stared back no trace of remorse to be found in his gold eyes. "Roman, Neo... We have an issue on our hands." She turned to her companions. "Evergreen saw my face, I bet they have video footage of it." Ruby felt guilt burn in her chest.

"It happens to the best of us, Red." Roman put a hand on her shoulder. "We just have to lay low for a little bit until this shit calms down."

Ruby looked at her feet and gently kicked at the ground with a boot. "But... they'll cover this on the news. _Yang will find out._" She told them.

Roman sucked in a breath through his teeth. "Well... All the more reason to lay low." He said.

Ruby nodded. "I'm sorry, Roman. I fucked it up. I should have done better." She sighed. A whine drifted to her ears before Drei shattered the low sound with a shrill bark. She hung her head.

"Well let's see what happens. We might have to leave Vale for a bit, and Cinder won't like that, but its for our interest." Roman decided.

Ruby nodded and turned away from the two of them. "I'll be in my room," she told them. _Sulking_. She added silently.

* * *

"_Today an assassination was attempted on the life of Tawny Bay. An anonymous tip to the police revealed that the criminal known as Red would be present. Just an hour ago, Red escaped police custody and remains at large. We now have a confirmed face of her, recreated by a description given by deputy Iris Evergreen who was at the scene of the would-be crime."_

Yang's eyes widened as a police sketch was put on the holoscreen. _Ruby?!_ It was unmistakeable, the face looked like her long lost sister, and the additional top of a hood draped over the sketch's shoulders just confirmed it.

_"She was seen accompanying two more criminals." _More sketches were pulled up, one of a White Fang member, and another of a girl's face that seemed to have mismatched eyes. _"All three are at large and the authorities are launching a citywide sweep to track all three of them down. Any information should be given to the Vale Police Department immediately. This has been VNN, I'm Lisa Lavender." _Yang turned off the television and stared at the wall.

_Ruby is Red. Ruby is Red. Ruby is Red._ She tried to chase down any rhyme or reason, but it eluded her. Why was Ruby a criminal? Who were the other people she was with?

Yang swallowed, but jumped as Blake and Ilia returned to the dorm. The brawler bit her lip, but decided against telling her teammates something that she herself was struggling with.

"I'm going for a walk." She told her team leader. Blake nodded in silent acceptance as Yang walked out of the dorm and headed towards a shaded part of the courtyard.

Tapping on a few apps on her Scroll, Yang finally was reached with a familiar "call" button.

He picked up on the second ring. _"Yang?" _

"Dad. You saw the news, right?" Yang asked in a hushed voice.

_"Yeah. I can't believe it myself. Ruby..." _he trailed off.

"Is Red." Yang finished for him, He sighed over the phone.

Suddenly Yang remembered something. "Dad," she hesitated "I think I know who she works for." Taking a deep breath, the blonde spat it out, something she had withheld because she didn't want his hopes getting up. "Ruby is working with Roman Torchwick. I heard her the night that _From Dust Til Dawn _was robbed."

A sharp inhale came from her father's end. _"You heard her voice?" _He asked. Yang nodded, despite knowing it was only an audio call.

"Yeah. She was calling the doberman that Torchwick had. I think she called it "Dry" or something like that. The dog leapt into the bullhead, and I saw a flash of a red cloak. It has to have been her, Dad." Yang told him in a rush.

There was silence on the other end, and Yang felt worried about what her dad would say next. _"So all that time you were chasing her down, you really had solid proof?"_ He asked.

"Dad, you know I did." Yang sighed. "Now what do we do?" She asked.

Silence again. _"I... don't know." _Her father said at last. _"Just don't go looking for her. Ruby is dangerous, and I don't doubt it that Torchwick has corrupted her."_ He stated.

"How long do you think she's been working under him...?" Yang asked.

Her dad sighed, _"Yang. Red has been active for several years. There's a number of possibilities. For all we know, she could have been with him this whole time."_ There was the sound of a fist slamming onto something. _"I'll talk with Qrow. We'll figure this out Yang. I promise." _He said. _"I love you." _He hung up.

Yang's head dropped to her shoulders at last.

_What have I done to deserve this? _She thought.

* * *

**A/N: A shorter chapter this time. I wanted this note to inform you that I changed the Neo scene in chapter 7 due to all of you pointing out that its strange that Neo would cry over Ruby being captured.**


	15. Brooding

Chapter 9: Brooding

"Yang." Her team leader spoke.

Yang didn't look up from her mashed potatoes, and simply muttered a halfhearted "Yeah".

Yang's partner nudged her. "Yang." She said.

"What is it." Yang asked flatly.

"You." Weiss stated. "You're being so... unlike you. Ever since two days ago you've been sulking, reclusive and antisocial. Barely in the dorm, and not even listening to the conversation."

"I've been listening!" Yang protested. A snowy eyebrow rose.

"Really? What was our conversation about?" Weiss challenged.

"Uhh... team attacks?" Yang guessed. She had heard Blake and Ilia speaking of it.

"That was fifteen minutes ago, Yang." Weiss said. Yang deflated.

"Sure, you've got me." She muttered.

"What's going on, Yang? You can talk to us, we're your teammates." Weiss said.

Yang stiffened when Weiss touched her shoulder. "You wouldn't understand." She stated.

"Try me." Weiss said simply.

Yang hesitated, but under the relentless gazes of her teammates, she sighed. "What if you just found out earth shattering news that you didn't know how to feel about?" She asked.

"Well I'd talk with my team about it." Weiss replied confidently.

"Really? Well I'm not you." Yang let out a slightly bitter laugh.

"You can tell us. We won't judge you." Blake stated.

"Well its a family matter. Between my dad, uncle and I." Yang replied.

"It becomes a team matter when it impacts your grades and our team standing." Weiss pointed out. "Just tell us, we can help you — even if that's just by lending an ear." She waited for Yang's response, which came in the form of her standing up.

"No. I can't. I've been told it stays between our family." Yang replied.

"We're teammates. We should be able to help you, Yang." Blake stated, standing up.

"Really?" Yang laughed bitterly. "I'm good." She waved the raven haired girl off and turned away from the table, heading towards one of the training rooms. She really had no intention of training, her fists didn't feel like punching anything and her emotions were a tornado of conflicting feelings.

Her baby sister was a criminal.

A criminal was her baby sister.

Ruby was Red

Red was Ruby

She should tell her team, they'd help.

She shouldn't tell her team, they'd never believe her.

But one thought was as clear as a bell.

She failed as a big sister.

* * *

Ruby threw _Howling At The Moon_ down to her bedroom floor. Laying low _sucked_. Neo was busy enforcing Roman's tributes, Roman was robbing places for Cinder. Drei accompanied Neo most of the time — leaving her alone.

She stalked out of her bedroom and turned on the television, wondering if the news was still going insane about her.

_"A link has been found connecting Red to a real name. Posters of a missing child in Patch from several years prior, striking a stunning resemblance to Red so uncanny it cannot be pure coincidence." _To her horror, one of the missing posters that featured Ruby was put on the screen's display. _"Police have made a distinct link between the two. Red becoming active about four and a half years ago, her name surfacing three years ago. The missing child's name is Ruby Rose, who had vanished nearly six years ago." _

Ruby couldn't help but chuckle. The news had certainly taken her story to new heights. She was a bit surprised with how fast they found the link. She watched in idle interest as Lisa Lavender went into greater detail about Summer, Tai, Qrow and even a bit about Yang.

_Well this publicity for them will be interesting._ Ruby's chuckles continued as she shut off the television.

The silver eyed thief walked to the kitchen and grabbed her mug from the dishwasher that had finished running about an hour ago. Ruby walked to the pot of coffee and poured herself a cup before putting in the microwave. While her coffee heated up, she got out the creamer and sugar before mixing it into her drink.

She exhaled as she took a sip while walking to the dining room table where she set the mug down.

Grabbing her scroll, Ruby let her mind drift onto nearly autopilot. It was like a movie as her fingers unlocked her Scroll before opening up her contacts app. She blinked, and was snapped back into reality with her hand hovering indecisively over Yang's contact information. Ruby reached her other hand and guided said hand away from the device as if it would act on its own.

_She knows who I am. What's the use of holding off the inevitable? I could just call her and be done with it._ She told herself. _But... she probably hates me. _Ruby thought and once more found her hand hovering over her Scroll. But this time it hovered over a different button that read _Delete Contact_.

She inhaled deeply through her nose and held it for a moment before exhaling slowly. _I shouldn't have ever even entertained the thought that Yang would still want me around._ Ruby thought.

Her finger pressed down onto the screen.

_Unnamed contact deleted successfully. _The blue screen displayed the message. Ruby took another sip from her coffee.

* * *

Roman sat in the driver's seat of the car.

"You really think that?" He asked at last. Neo nodded, face serious.

'_There's not really a better explanation._' She signed to him.

Roman scratched the side of his jaw, "But its stupid. Cinder _knows_ how valuable Ruby is!" He told Neo.

'_Yes. But it seems too convenient. Have a White Fang member give us suicide pills "just in case" something happens. Cue shit hitting the fan and that Evergreen bitch singling out Ruby. Its almost like someone had told Evergreen that she'd be there._' Neo momentarily averted Roman's gaze before continuing to sign '_I don't know what Cinder has against Ruby. But i'd say the most damning evidence is how she _reacted_ to Ruby getting captured. What does she do? Immediately just call Sable to her office and showed no real emotions of regret when I came back and told her my side of the story._' She met his hard green eyes. '_Something isn't right here.' _Neo signed.

Roman exhaled and resisted the urge to plant his face onto the steering wheel."I guess." He murmured. "It could be a possibility, Neo." He added. "Can you try and look into it?" He asked.

Neo smiled. '_Do you really think you had to ask? I've been doing that every free second I've had._' She signed, face turning serious once again.

"And?" Roman prompted "What did you find?"

The mute's face became a mix between resignation and defeat. '_You won't like what I found..._' she produced her Scroll and after a few minutes of tapping, showed the screen to Roman.

* * *

**A/N: Yes another short chapter and cliffhanger. I wanted this to be here mainly because next chapter I'll be wrapping up Volume 1 events with Black and White/The Stray's events occurring. What did Neo find? It'll be revealed later in the story but I'm not that good at giant twists, so its kinda predictable to guess what it is. Ah well.**

**Hope you enjoyed!**


	16. Views

Chapter 10: Views

Walking down the streets, Team Basil paused as a banner reading "Welcome to Vale" was pulled up.

Weiss clasped her hands together, "Oh the Vytal Festival! This is wonderful!" She exclaimed.

"I've never seen you smile so much, Weiss. Its kind of creeping me out." Ilia edged a bit away from the heiress.

Weiss turned to Ilia "How could you not smile? There's parades, dances and a tournament — and its all to celebrate the cultures of the world!" She smiled.

Yang rolled her eyes in slight amusement at her partner's antics "Jeez, you seem to be excited." She said.

"Of course! There's so much planning and organization involved and its breathtaking!" Weiss said.

Cue Yang sighing and flipping her hair over her shoulder "Well now you've made a good thing turn into something that sounds boring." She still couldn't wipe a small smile off of her face.

"Oh quiet you!" Weiss huffed, but Yang knew it was playful.

"Remind me again why we're spending a perfectly good Friday afternoon at the docks?" Yang asked as they neared the docks.

Ilia waved a hand away from her face, coughing a little at the rancid smell "Ew, it smells like rotting fish." She groaned.

"I heard students from Vacuo are coming by boat today, and as a representative of Beacon I think its our solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom!" Weiss explained.

"She wants to spy on them." Blake stated, causing Ilia to snicker.

"You can't prove that!" Weiss declared.

Passing a building that was covered with yellow police tape, Yang paused and doubled back. "Woah..." she started approaching it slowly. "What happened here?" She asked one of the officers.

"Robbery. Third Dust shop to be robbed this week. This place is turning into a jungle." He replied.

"Hey, they left the money again!" The second officer exclaimed.

"Huh?" Yang perked up.

"Doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs all of that Dust anyway?" The first one asked.

"I dunno, an army?" The other replied.

"You thinkin' it could be Red?" The first asked.

"There's no calling card." The other replied.

"Maybe White Fang." The first suggested.

"Maybe we aren't getting paid enough." The other replied "We've seen Red is working with those terrorists, so maybe it is the 'Fang working with Red." He mused.

"The White Fang, what an awful bunch of degenerates!" Weiss crossed her arms. "And to think one of them was working with Red as well! It just proves how bad they are!" She added.

Yang bit her tongue, a retort on the edge of it. _Don't talk about my sister like she's evil!_ She thought, but Blake spoke.

"What's _your_ problem?" Blake asked.

"My problem? I simply don't care about the criminally insane! Red is as much as a monster as those psychopathic faunus!" Weiss responded.

"The White Fang are hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided faunus." Blake stated.

"Well I don't see you defending Red!" Weiss pointed out. "She's still as vile as the White Fang!"

Yang felt close to her breaking point. "Weiss." Her tone was cold, causing all three of her teammates to whip around "Do you know how old Red is?" She asked in a soft voice yet its edge was sharper than any blade or razor.

"Does it even matter?" Weiss asked.

"It _does_." Yang insisted. "Red is fifteen years old. " she stated.

"Why is that supposed to matter? She's a murderer!" Weiss declared.

"How did you get that information?" Ilia crossed her arms, eyes narrowing.

_Think fast! A lie! _Yang nearly panicked but calmed herself. "The news station mentioned it was one of her possible ages." She said. _Ugh I'm stupid! Good going, Yang. You almost blew your cover and told them Red is Ruby and Ruby is your sister! _She berated herself.

"That still changes nothing." Weiss stated and turned back towards Blake. "They're hardly misguided. They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!" She told the raven haired girl.

"So then they're _very_ misguided! Either way it doesn't explain why they'd rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale." Blake told Weiss.

Ilia put a hand on her partner's arm. "Blake. Let it go. Weiss is entitled to her own opinion." She said.

Before Blake could say another word, a voice yelled "Hey! Stop that faunus!"

Team Basil whipped around and saw a boy with a monkey tail run off of a ship. They watched in amusement as he taunted a pair of sailors, but he soon ran past them. "Well Weiss? You wanted to see our competition — there it goes." Yang said.

"Quick! We must observe him!" Weiss declared and the quartet gave chase. Weiss was stopped by slamming into another girl as Yang watched the faunus leap onto a building and escape "Drat! He got away." She sighed.

"Uh... Weiss?" Yang asked.

Weiss shrieked as she saw an orange haired girl laying on the ground

"Sal-u-tations!" She greeted.

"Uh... Hello. Are you alright?" Weiss asked

"I'm fine, thank you for asking!" She replied.

"Do you... wanna get up?" Yang asked.

"Yes!" The girl leapt to her feet, making Team Basil step back collectively. "My name's Penny, a pleasure to meet you!" She greeted.

"My name is Weiss." Weiss said

"Blake." Blake nodded

"I'm Ilia." Ilia told Penny.

"Yang." Yang said.

"Its a pleasure to meet you!" Penny smiled.

"You already said that." Yang pointed out.

Penny paused for a moment. "So I did." She agreed.

"Well... sorry for running into you, Penny. Have a good day." Weiss said and Team Basil turned around.

"She was... weird." Yang stated as they walked off.

Weiss looked around "Now I wonder where that faunus riff-raff ran off to." She asked.

"Weiss. Stop." Blake said.

"Stop what?" Weiss asked.

"Stop calling him riff-raff, stop calling him a psychopath, he's a person just like us!" Blake exclaimed.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like me to stop referring to a trash can as a trash can? Or this lamppost as a lamp post?" Weiss asked

"Stop it!" Blake demanded

"Stop _what_? He clearly broke the law! Give him time and he'll probably join those other faunus in the White Fang!" Weiss said.

"You ignorant little brat!" Blake growled

"How dare you talk to me like that? I'm your teammate!" Weiss yelled.

"And I'm your team leader. And as your team leader I demand we drop this!" Blake told her.

"Fine." Weiss agreed. "But it still doesn't change the truth." She added.

Yang sighed and looked to Ilia, whose expression was a mask of stone. "Well this might not stop for a bit." She told the girl. Ilia nodded in silent agreement as Blake and Weiss continued to argue.

* * *

At dinner, Ruby set her fork down.

"Roman, can I come with you on the attack at the pier tomorrow night?" Ruby asked.

"No, Ruby. Its too risky for you. You need to be not active and stay low." Roman told her.

Ruby frowned "But nobody knows about it, just the four of us." She told him.

Neo snapped her fingers to gain the two's attention. '_Ruby has a point. She can just watch it. There's no way the police will know about it.' _She signed.

"Red, lets talk about it later. I have a heist to lead in ten minutes and I need to get dressed." Roman stated.

Drei barked, drawing his attention. Gold eyes met Roman's. "You wanna come boy?" He asked.

Drei huffed, and Roman nodded. "Alright you can come." He agreed. The man set his silverware down and put his plate in the dishwasher before heading to his and Neo's room to get dressed.

Exiting, Drei grabbed Melodic Cudgel gently in his jaws and presented it to Roman, who nodded and took the weapon. In return, Roman took off Drei's collar.

"Be safe!" Ruby called. Drei's tail whipped the air and he barked before running to her. Rearing up on his hind legs, he licked Ruby's cheek before trotting back to Roman.

Roman led the way out, Drei trotting next to him. Golden eyes looked up to meet green, and the doberman huffed.

"Is it about Ruby?" Roman asked. Drei rumbled in his chest. "I thought as much..." He mumbled. Drei grunted. "You want her to come?" He asked. Drei wagged his tail. "Drei, you know as well as I do she could have been captured. Vale is on a manhunt for her right now." He told the doberman. Drei whined. "I know, I don't want anything to happen to her as well." He agreed softly and opened the passenger side door for the dog to jump in. Drei grumbled "You want her to come still." Drei yawned. "I'll take that as a yes." Roman sighed. Drei flashed him a doggy grin.

* * *

**A/N: Writing the Roman/Drei scene was interesting. Roman, Neo and Ruby know Drei understand them, and they can somewhat hold conversations with him. But like the omake showed, most of their interpretations can be wrong. I know some of you are concerned of Drei becoming too involved and recurring, but I promise that will not be the case. I skipped over the boring "I'm a victem!" "Well I'm a faunus!" Scene and we're gonna pick back up at the Volume 1 finale next chapter!**


	17. Truth

Chapter 11: Truth — Volume 1 finale

Yang knew something was up the moment she opened the dorm room's door. Weiss and Blake were standing in the middle of their room, with Ilia sitting in her bunk.

"Yang. We need to talk." Blake stated.

Yang couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "About what?" She asked.

"This." Yang tensed as Weiss walked forward on stiff legs with her Scroll in her hand. She wanted to look away, to ignore what her partner's Scroll displayed.

"What are you talking about. I don't see a problem." She lied.

"You don't see a problem?" Blake asked. "You don't see a problem with your "missing" sister looking exactly like Red?" Yang flinched and refused to meet either teammate's gaze.

"Is this why you've been sulking?" Weiss asked.

"How did you-" Yang was cut off by Blake.

"Yang. We're not stupid. We saw that news broadcast. They talked about _you_ in it!" Golden eyes hardened.

Yang looked at the ground. "I've been in denial about it these last few days. Oh screw that, these last few _months_. I've seen glimpses of her everywhere — but its hard to find out your little sister has spent the last three years slaughtering people and robbing Vale blind alongside a crime lord and his assistant." Her voice turned bitter. "But I'm sure none of you would understand that pain."

"You're saying you've seen her?" Weiss asked.

Yang could only nod. "Yeah... I saw her the night I fought Torchwick. He had a dog with him, and she called it to her. I swear I saw her on that bullhead as well. But the first time was actually at a club. She was with Torchwick and the other chick alongside a few others. I tried to get to her — I'm _sure_ she saw me." She sighed.

"You never reported this to the police?" Ilia asked.

Yang clenched her jaw, a spark of rage flickering in her chest. To her teammates, the blonde's eyes flickered red for a heartbeat. "She's my _sister_. Criminal or not." The brawler stated, forcing her tone to be even.

For a moment, Blake looked at the ground — and the motion was only caught by Yang.

"Your sister is a mass murderer and thief." Weiss stated. Yang's eyes met Weiss's.

"She's _fifteen_. Do you know how old Ruby was when she ran away? Nine years old. I'm dead sure she was forced into this life. I have to save her from Torchwick." Yang growled.

Weiss's hard glare softened a hair.

"Weiss. You can't tell me you'd punish a child for something she doesn't know is wrong." Yang pressed.

Weiss remained silent for a moment before speaking again. "I might not, but that doesn't mean the police wouldn't do the same." She admitted.

"I know she's in Vale, I can just tell. I just need to find her and bring her back home to safety." Yang said.

"And what if she doesn't want to go home?" Blake asked softly.

Yang's chin lowered a fraction. "She's probably been brainwashed. We can reverse it, I'm sure of it." She said.

"Yang. Are you planning on looking for her?" Ilia asked.

Yang turned to the girl, determination filling her. "Yes."

Blake was quiet, and Ilia spoke up.

"How do you plan to find her?"

I'm... not really sure." Yang admitted. "I've just been tracking down places she's been spotted at and seeing if there's any decent clues."

"Well its been established that Red works with the White Fang. So perhaps she and Torchwick would be where they are." Blake said.

Yang turned to the team leader, hope flashing in her eyes "You guys would... help me?" She asked, hesitation filling her voice.

"Blake, Yang. You can't be serious about finding a wanted criminal." Weiss stated.

"Weiss. She's my sister. I just want her back." Yang turned on the heiress. "I'm going to get her back — with or without your help." She told her.

Weiss sighed. "I just want to be the voice of reason. Whatever you're scheming is probably dangerous, stupid, and or highly illegal." She responded.

"I think we knew that already." Ilia piped up.

"But," Weiss continued "I'll support you as your partner and teammate. Even if this is insanity." She finished.

"Weiss! Thank you!" Yang rushed at the snowy haired heiress and hugged her.

Weiss shook her head in clear amusement "We're all getting expelled for this." She smiled.

* * *

Ruby sat in the airship, Drei sitting next to her leg with his head in her lap. Silver eyes glanced away from gold to look at her hip that usually held her weapon. She sighed, right hand curling at her side and grasping at the nonexistent handle of Dark Glory. They had been unable to recover it, and it was too risky to look for her weapon.

A sigh slipped from her lips, and Immediately was echoed by her canine companion. Her left hand reached up to rub behind one of Drei's ears, the doberman leaning into the affection.

"Red." Footsteps clanked on the airship's floor, followed by the sound of Roman's cane. Ruby looked up to meet his green gaze. "You're not allowed to leave the airship." He stated.

Her mouth gaped open "Roman, but-"

"But your unarmed, Red. If shit hits the fan, you won't be able to fight." He stated.

"I have my semblance. And I'm good at hand to hand!" Ruby protested "That's why you trained me in it!"

"You can dodge bullets, sure. But what if we're faced by huntsmen? You can't fight huntsmen, kid. You'll get killed." Roman reached in his coat to take out a cigar before lighting it.

"What? This is such bullshit!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Language." Roman chided around the cigar.

"You're letting Drei off the ship even if there's a threat of huntsmen, and you say just because I don't have Dark Glory that _I_ can't? Drei's a damn dog!" Ruby argued, said dog yawned before rumbling in irritation at the red cloaked girl.

"Yes, and you know what Drei has that you _don't_? Anonymity. Nobody expects a dog to be able to fight off police officers. You, on the other hand, have your face plastered all over Vale!" Roman countered. "Not to mention he has a job — sniff out any traps!" He added.

Ruby slouched in her seat. "Fine." She growled.

"Look sharp, Red. We're here." Roman announced as the airship shuddered and moved downwards. "Drei, to me." He commanded. The doberman planted his front paws on the seat next to Ruby and leaned forward to lick her cheek before joining Roman.

* * *

"You're sure this is likely?" Yang asked after the Dust had been unloaded.

"I'm sure." Weiss affirmed. "I know the SCD usually brings lots of Dust shipments around Vytal Festival time, so its likely there'll be a shipment tonight." She stated. Team Basil fell into silence again, watching the docks.

"Yang..." Ilia asked "What if they don't come?"

Yang turned to her, "We'll keep looking. We'll wait for Ruby to accompany Torchwick and the White Fang. Then we capture Torchwick and bring Ruby back with us." She said.

"But what if they never come? The White Fang would _never_ need this much Dust." Blake said, her partner gave her a strange look.

"We don't know what their motives are. That's all the reason more to find them." Yang punched a fist into her palm.

All four of their attentions were drawn to an airship's lights sweeping the docks before it landed in a space.

"Well ladies, its showtime." Yang engaged Ember Celica and started to rise from her crouch when Blake grabbed her forearm with shocking strength.

"Yang. Wait." The team leader's voice was hard. "We shouldn't rush in blindly. We don't know what to expect."

Yang lowered herself again slowly. "Ugh I hate it when your right." She sighed but kept her weapons ready, noting how the rest of team Basil 's hands drifted to their own weapons handles.

White Fang members walked out of the airship, and Blake's eyes narrowed. Ilia gripped her partner's hand as the White Fang started preparing to load up the Dust crates.

Then, a doberman trotted down from the ramp. "She's here." Yang breathed, trying to rise again only for Blake's hand to shoot out and grab her wrist again. "Blake, let go! That's the same dog that Ruby called to her! Ruby is here, I knew it!" She exclaimed, breaking free from Blake's grip and standing up.

Then, her blood boiled as a familiar man in a white coat strolled down the ramp. "Hurry it up! We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves!" He called. "Drei, sweep." He commanded. The dog turned to Torchwick and barked once before trotting around the containers.

"Torchwick..." Yang growled, feeling her semblance partially activate.

"Yang, wait!" Weiss and Blake reached for her again, but Yang took a running leap from the building.

As she was falling, the doberman turned around and barked at her.

"Shit!" Torchwick yelled. "Not you again!" He raised his cane as Yang ran at him.

"You!" Was all Yang could yell as she charged. Torchwick blocked her punch and leaned out of the way of a kick. "You bastard! Tell me where my fucking sister is!" She swung a haymaker his way that he ducked under before leaping backward before firing his cane gun that Yang fired a bullet from Ember Celica to intercept it. She dove through the smoke of the explosion with a scream. Torchwick met her with his cane aimed squarely at her chest, his other hand held up to his lips with his thumb and index finger in his mouth.

A whistle pierced the air, and Yang heard Blake yell her name. She turned around to see the doberman run her way. Yang jumped over the dog's leap and closed her eyes before landing a punch to its side. A yelp filled the air as the doberman flew away from her.

Green eyes hardened "You want to know where your sister is?" Torchwick asked, blocking Yang's series of strikes. "Well if I were you I wouldn't have done that to Drei." He said. Yang looked over his shoulder and in the darkness of the ship she could see a pair of silver eyes.

"Ruby?" Yang gasped and ducked under a shot fired by Torchwick before springing up and slamming her head into his jaw. A weight slammed into her side as teeth latched onto Yang's shoulder. Savage growling filled her air. Yang cried out in pain and swung around to throw the doberman off of her. The dog tumbled to the ground with a yelp.

All of a sudden, the silver eyes watching Yang narrowed before they vanished and a red blur streaked out from the ship. Torchwick stumbled to the side and Yang was forced flying back into a crate. She was met with furious silver eyes. "Drei, transport." Ruby yelled.

"Ru - RED!" Torchwick yelled "What are you doing?!"

Yang grabbed Ruby by the arms, but her sister reared her head back before slamming it into Yang's.

"Ruby? What are you doing?!" Yang demanded as Ruby's silver eyes reflected her face in them. Suddenly her sister had grabbed her around her waist and the world flashed red. When her vision cleared, petals floated around the two of them. Ruby's hands were around her throat. They weren't choking her, but Yang knew that her sister was silently threatening it.

"I'm giving you your one chance. Retreat your team and stop looking for me now." Ruby growled.

"What? Ruby, what's going on? We're here to save you from Torchwick!" Yang exclaimed.

"Save me? _Save_ me?" Her sister threw her head back with a bitter laugh. "If anything I'm the one saving _you. _I got you away before Neo could get to you. She would have slit your throat the moment you touched Drei. I told her to stand down, and she's mad." She informed her.

"What? Neo?" Yang asked.

"Neo. Neopolitan. She's Roman's right hand. If you thought _I'm_ bad, you haven't seen what Neo can do." Ruby explained.

"Ruby, they kidnapped you!" Yang rose with a surge of strength and flipped their positions, restraining Ruby against the Dust container.

"No. I went with them willingly." Ruby said evenly, not even struggling. Yang's eyes widened in shock.

"What?" Was all she could say. Above the sisters, two more airships flew through the sky towards the main group.

"Yang. I ran away, and Roman and Neo took me in. They trained me up and gave me a life and purpose in life." Ruby told her.

_No..._ was the only thought that Yang heard.

"Stop this, Yang. This is your only warning. I've made my choice six years ago." Ruby said. "Do you honestly think I'm as stupid to believe I'll be welcome home? I'll be arrested on sight and probably executed." Silver eyes were full of unreadable emotions. "Stop coming after me. If I see you again, I won't show you mercy. Goodbye, Yang." Yang didn't realize her grip had loosened. Ruby lifted her hand up and pushed hard against her chest. The blonde stumbled backwards and in a streak of red, Ruby was gone. Yang realized her forearm was wet, and she saw droplets of wetness on it. Hesitantly, she put a finger to the liquid and tasted it. It was salty. Ruby had been crying.

Her vision was blurry, and Yang slumped down as tears dripped down her cheeks.

* * *

Ruby wiped her tears away on her cheeks as she saw Roman retreat to the ship.

She entered it to see Drei laying on his belly while Neo stroked his head.

"Is he alright?" Was her first words. Neo's gaze was hard in anger, and suddenly Ruby felt a hand clap her shoulder. "Roman..." Ruby turned around to meet furious green eyes as the airship roared and moved.

"You're in so. Much. Trouble. When we get home." Was all Roman said.

Ruby gulped.

* * *

Team BSIL sat in their dorm, a heavy silence filled the room. Yang's eyes were red from crying. Weiss was staring at the floor. Ilia was sitting with her back pressed hard against her bed's headboard. Blake was silently holding a black ribbon in her hand and looking anywhere but Weiss's direction.

"You're both faunus?" Yang said at last, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Yes." Blake's voice was stiff, golden eyes meeting Yang's.

"And White Fang?" Yang asked.

Blake and Ilia nodded. "We've left though." Ilia said and Yang gasped softly as the girl's skin shifted to green with her hair turning blue.

Across the room Weiss had glanced up at Yang's gasp, only to flinch when she saw Ilia's skin change colors.

"How can we trust you? How do we know you won't murder us in your sleep?" Weiss demanded, yet her voice shook.

Blake's ears folded downward. Yang turned to her partner.

"Weiss. They would have already if they wanted to." She said, and grimaced as she recalled Ruby's words to her.

_If I see you again, I won't show you mercy._ She had promised.

"We left for a reason." Blake murmured. Yang and Weiss turned to the cat faunus and listened as she told them how she came to join the White Fang.

"And you?" Weiss turned to Ilia, who froze and her skin turned pale in a way that had nothing to do with her faunus trait.

"You'd hate me. You already do, Weiss." Ilia murmured, evading looking at the heiress. "But I guess I should share my reasons as well." Ilia launched into her own story, Weiss's eyes widening when she heard about the Dust mine accident.

"Illia, I-" Weiss began.

"Don't." The chameleon faunus said harshly, before her skin flickered green and blue again. "I... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped." She looked at her hands before they curled into fists.

Yang sighed and crawled into her bed. "I'm going to bed." She muttered. "You guys do whatever the hell you want, but I've had enough for today." She told them. Her teammates gave general murmurs of agreement, and soon the lights went out in Team BSIL's room.

* * *

"Ruby, I'm disappointed in you." Roman said. Ruby hung her head as she sat on the couch. Drei was sitting near the television, and the girl could practically sense how upset the doberman was at her.

"You went against my word. I told you to stay put — and you go running off to see your sister!" Roman's hand gripped Melodic Cudgel. "Why do you have to make everything so damn difficult? What did you say to your sister? What did you tell her?" He demanded, whirling on her. "Did you rat us out?" Suddenly Ruby froze like a statue as the barrel of Melodic Cudgel was half a foot away from her nose.

"I..." Ruby felt her throat close up, refusing to let her speak.

"Red, you might have fucked up our whole operation! Give me a good reason not to splatter your brains!" He yelled. Suddenly his cane vanished and Neo stood before Roman with her back to Ruby. "Neo! What are you doing?" Roman growled. Ruby didn't see what Neo signed to him. "You remember our damn promise? For all we know Ruby told Yang where we live and god knows what else!" Once again Neo was signing to him.

"Ro - Roman. I didn't betray you. I told Yang to stay out of my business. I made it clear I'll kill her if we cross paths again." Ruby finally spoke up. Roman's fury seemed to die down as Neo stepped away from him after signing a few more things to him.

"How do I know your not lying?" Roman challenged.

"I had every chance to desert you tonight. Yet I didn't. I swore my loyalty to you, Roman. And only you." Ruby told him.

Roman sighed at last. "I was scared we would lose you, Ruby." He admitted, his tone and posture losing all their prior aggression. "We almost lost you once, kid. We don't want it to happen again." He said and walked towards Ruby with opened arms. Ruby used her semblance to slam into his embrace, rose petals drifting to the ground behind her.

"I promise you'll never lose me, Roman." Ruby buried her face into the criminal's chest. "I'll never leave you." She swore.

"I believe you, Ruby." Roman hugged her back. A pair of slender arms wrapped around the two as Neo joined the embrace, and Roman felt a pair of paws land on his forearm as Drei licked Ruby's cheek.

* * *

**A/N: A little bit of love to end a chapter and volume. If you want to you can send suggestions for ideas that lead up to No Brakes — because I'm not entirely sure what I'll end up doing for those events, except I know for sure what happens during No Brakes.**

**Feedback is always appreciated, and thank you all for your immense support in the story! I wouldn't have had as much motivation to write without you guys! **

**Much love,**

**Guardian**


	18. Aftermath

Chapter 12: Aftermath

Cinder pinched the bridge of her nose as she resisted the urge to hurl her coffee mug at a wall. She had heard of Red's escape from her plan, and the woman was _not_ happy.

Sable had been informed, the faunus was displeased with the results as well. But she had given Cinder an idea. Red was unarmed, her weapons still in police custody. It was an opening to... take care of the issue.

Salem would be pleased with her wiping out the last silver eyed warrior. The Grimm queen had known of Red's existence from police reports, but despite Red not exactly being a hero — the girl posed a threat to Salem's goals.

"She _has_ to be eliminated." Cinder muttered, staring into the dark liquid coffee in her cup.

"And I assure you, my plan will work." The half-Fall maiden jumped in her seat, a bit of scalding hot coffee splashing on her wrist. Sable's burning orange eyes displayed amusement for a moment, before returning to a more serious look. "My apologies for startling you, Cinder." It wasn't an apology, more of a statement.

"Are you sure about it?" Cinder voiced her doubts. She could see _so_ much going wrong with the plan — anything could happen.

Sable's eyes narrowed in a predatory way, "I realize how absurd it may be. I've been doing... research, on Red. I know her potential weaknesses, and I plan to exploit them." The intensity of the fox eared woman's gaze silently challenged Cinder to debate with her.

"Research? What kind of research?" Cinder asked, interest grabbed.

Sable's eyes lost the intimidating predatory glare, and the faunus straightened while producing a Scroll. "I'll be glad to share. My employer deserves to know, after all." She stated, tapping a few things. "Obviously first and foremost, there's her older sister. Yang Xiao Long, who is a student at Beacon Academy. From what I heard from Roman, she's been highly persistent in attempting to track down her younger sister." Sable pulled up a picture of a blonde woman with lavender eyes. "Fighting style revolves around her gauntlets that seem to have a sort of gun for extra punching power and sometimes used for mid range attacks. Her semblance allows her to get stronger with damage taken. A fiery temper, even explosive as some might call it." She tittered, yet Cinder knew it wasn't because Sable actually found something funny. "Moving on," she pulled up a picture of a blonde man "Taiyang Xiao Long. Teacher of Signal Academy and both girl's biological father, despite Red taking more after her mother. Similar fighting style to Yang, but seems to have moved on over Red's disappearance." Sable told Cinder.

"And her mother?" Cinder asked.

Sable nodded and pulled up a few pictures. "Summer Rose, Red's biological mother. Went missing and presumed "Killed In Action" several years ago, with Red coming under Roman Torchwick's tutorage a few months after the death of Summer Rose." The faunus informed Cinder, who nodded in response and sipped from her coffee.

"Anything else interesting?" She asked.

Sable closed her Scroll. "None. I'll continue preparing our plan. You'll have her dead by month's end." The faunus bowed to Cinder and stepped into a shadow cast by the couch on the floor, before vanishing into it.

"I hope you don't let me down." Cinder told the now empty room. Of course, she received no response to her words.

* * *

_"Activity of Red has dropped to an all-time low in the last week. Suspected to have gone deep into hiding after her failed capture, Vale authorities are working hard to track her down in this lull of criminal activity from her."_ Silver eyes rolled and turned to her companion who was sitting next to her on the couch.

"Neo," The mute was already facing her, having noted Ruby's posture changing before she actually turned to face Neo. "We should do something about this." She waved a hand at the television.

'_Ruby, calm down. You need to keep laying low.' _She signed.

Ruby sighed and threw her hands into the air "Oh god dammit. I'm _sick_ and _tired_ of all this waiting! I can't even walk Drei so we can pickpocket!" She exclaimed. "You guys are doing all of this work, meeting with Cinder, killing people and doing all the fun stuff! I'm here, twiddling my thumbs and watching the news and their crackpot theories about me and my location!"

Neo's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, the colors swapping when the woman blinked. '_Must we remind you that you are weaponless? And we can't exactly stroll into the police station to retrieve it.'_ She signed.

"I can't... Nor can Roman. But a _police officer _could." Neo shook her head and crossed her arms. "What?" Ruby asked

'_No. I'm not getting Dark Glory for you.'_ Neo told her.

"Alright, then what do miss "i'm-not-helping"?" Ruby asked.

'_What's our motto?'_ Ruby was taken aback by the sudden question. '_Answer the question, Ruby._' Neo prompted, her expression reminding Ruby of when Neo had tutored her in her earlier years.

"Lie, steal, cheat and... ooooohhhh!" Ruby's confusion turned to surprise. "But how?"

Now it was Neo's turn to roll her eyes as she leaned forward to flick Ruby's nose. "Ow!" She yelped, falling against the backrest of the couch.

'_That's up to you. Its your weapon, after all.'_ Neo informed her.

Ruby clapped her hands. "Alright! Time to get plotting: Ruby's Super Secret Plan To Get Dark Glory Back From Evil Police Officers And Rub My Escape Into Evergreen's Face In The Process!" She exclaimed, causing Neo's eyebrow to rise. "What?" Ruby canted her head.

'_Quite the mouthful.'_ Neo signed.

"We can turn it into an acronym!" Ruby said.

_'Yes. Because RSSPTGDGBFEPOARMEIEFITP! is totally a good acronym.' _Neo informed her, staring at the piece of paper that Ruby had written the full title of the "plan" on. _'It takes up a fourth of the paper.' _The mute noted.

"Shut up! Its a temporary name!"

Neo's lips upturned into a smile. '_You don't even have a plan.'_ She stated.

"ITS A WORK IN PROGRESS!" Ruby yelled.

'_A BIG work in progress.'_ Neo agreed, only to get a glare from Ruby. '..._What?_'. She asked.

* * *

Yang stared a hole into her book, reading the same words over and over again. She had no clue how long it had been since she last turned a page.

"You're going to burn paper with a glare like that." A slender hand waved in front of the brawler's face. Yang blinked rapidly. "Of course, if you don't shred it to pieces first." Weiss stated.

"O-oh! Weiss! How... er, how long have you been there?" Yang asked.

"Long enough to know you haven't made a smidge of progress on your homework in around the last half an hour." The heiress responded. "I get it. You're still overwhelmed by the other night. But at this rate your grades will start to slip, and I won't let Team Basil have a bad name." Weiss said.

Yang sighed and closed the book, setting it down on the table she sat at just a _bit_ harder than intended. Weiss raised a snow white eyebrow her way, to which Yang slumped in her seat. "You're taking this in stride. I would have thought you'd still be freaking out over Blake and Ilia." She told her partner.

Weiss's blue eyes gained an uncertain look to them. "I... I guess I'm taking all of this in stride." She admitted, clasping her hands behind her back. "But I'm here for you, Yang. Its what partners are for." Weiss told her, to which Yang nodded.

"I know," Yang agreed "I am too, Ice Queen." Weiss scoffed at the nickname, but moved around behind Yang.

"Do you mind if I take this?" Weiss pulled the empty seat on Yang's other side out, and waited hesitantly for her partner's answer.

"No, not at all." Yang said absentmindedly.

Weiss sat down, sitting on the edge of her chair with one leg crossed over the other and both hands in her lap. "Yang, you never told us what really happened at the docks." Blue eyes stared at the floor, seeming to track random patterns in it.

"I... did?" Yang asked. Weiss nodded confirmation. "You want me to tell you about it, don't you?" Another nod, and Yang leaned backwards into her chair before staring at the ceiling. "I guess I should tell you about it." She agreed. "So you saw me lunge for Torchwick, and we fought a bit. All of a sudden that damn dog attacks me, and I threw it off of me. I saw Ruby watching from the open bullhead, and the dog attacked me again. As soon as I got it off of me, Ruby comes flying out of the airship and we wind up a bit away from everything else, behind a shipping container. She pinned me against it and said a bunch of bullshit about saying I should leave. I told her "no way in hell", and she says that some bitch named Neo was about to kill me or something. I told her I was gonna bring her home... and Ruby told me that Torchwick was her new family. They raised and looked after her. She told me to stop looking... and left." Yang hung her head in absolute shame. "I should have stopped her."

Weiss rested a hand on Yang's shoulder. "Will you follow her advice?" She asked.

Yang shuddered with a deep inhale, both her semblance and hot tears threatening to break free. "No. I'm not giving up on my baby sister." She decided.

Weiss's eyes shimmered in concern, but nodded. "I'll support your decision. Its the least I can do for my partner." She agreed softly. "Let's check on Blake and Ilia."

Yang nodded in agreement and stood up. "Thank you, Weiss." She exhaled and packed up her work. "Let's go."

* * *

**A/N: Some of you were wondering about Roman's erratic behavior at the end of last chapter. He's kind of parental towards Ruby, and was angry that she put herself in danger, and genuinely was scared she betrayed them and could have gotten hurt by Yang. When he threatened her, he wasn't thinking straight — thus why Neo intervened. She talked sense into him and convinced him to calm down**

**Next chapter I'll be diving deeper into the now divided Team Basil. **


	19. Dysfunctional

Chapter 13: Dysfunctional

"Blake, why did you have to do that? At the docks." Ilia's eyes turned blue when the faunus looked at her teammate.

Blake leaned back onto her hands, looking up at the setting sun. "Its wrong. The White Fang doesn't work with humans..." She said.

"I know... but now you've practically announced to the White Fang "Hey Adam! I'm right here!" And he'll probably come..." now the chameleon faunus's skin began taking a green tone as her sorrow became more apparent. Blake rested a hand on top of Ilia's.

"Hey, we're surrounded by a school full of huntsmen and huntresses in training. Adam is smart, he wouldn't dare attack us." She comforted.

"What if he targets Weiss and Yang?" Ilia asked. "What then?"

Blake sighed. "I don't know, Ilia. We'll protect them, _I'll_ protect them. Somehow." She said

Ilia nodded, colors returning to normal slowly. "You know I'll be here for you. We're in this together." She comforted, scooting closer to Blake.

"I know. Thank you, Ilia." Blake nodded and closed her eyes for a moment, soaking in the moment.

"No need to thank me." Blake had looked down at the ground under the roof the partners sat on, watching a third year team walk into the building while chatting. In that moment, Ilia's cheeks lit up pink.

The two faunus just sat there, enjoying the silence. Until their Scrolls buzzed.

_Blake? Where r u?_ Blake read Yang's text.

_Ilia, are you with Blake? Where are you? Yang and I are looking for you._ Ilia read Weiss's text.

Blake began typing out a reply, but Ilia put a hand over one of Blake's. "Don't." The chameleon faunus said softly. "Let's just have this time to ourselves."

Blake hesitated, her bow twitched as she moved her hand away from Ilia's before closing her Scroll down. "Alright." She agreed quietly.

* * *

Yang sighed, staring at her Scroll where the message showed it had been read. Blake had typed for a moment, and stopped. "Did Ilia say anything?" She asked.

"No." Weiss responded. Yang slumped down against a wall.

"Blake looked like she was gonna reply." She said "Then she stopped."

Weiss exhaled in a way that could only be described as a controlled sigh. "Its late, so let's just go to bed. We have class tomorrow. Blake and Ilia will show up for class, if they don't for bed." She stated. Yang reluctantly nodded.

"Alright." She pushed off the wall and started to walk back to the dorm, Weiss following.

"Are you alright, Yang?" Weiss asked, out of the blue.

"Weiss, our team's being divided, my sister has gone into hiding. I'm trying to keep us together, but that's because Blake hasn't attempted to do so herself." Yang exhaled a frustrated sound between a sigh and a groan. "So no. I'm not alright." She finished as they neared the dorm.

Weiss was silent, seemingly unsure as to what she could say. "Yang. I promise thing'll work out." She said at last, and Yang looked over to see uncertainty flicker in the heiress's blue eyes.

"I hope you're right." Yang said after a long pause, and entered the bathroom to shower.

Weiss sat on her own bed, looking across the room where Blake and Ilia's beds were empty. Soon the water in the bathroom began to run, signifying her partner beginning her shower.

Weiss sighed, leaning back onto her bed and staring upwards. She felt bad, Yang was just as torn up as her. Blake and Ilia were closing themselves off from Yang and her, avoiding them.

_But... I thought we're supposed to communicate as a team._ Her hands curled lightly, fingertips digging slightly into the covers. _This isn't what Team Basil is about. We've been all for communication and now,_ Weiss sighed and let her eyes drift shut. _Now we're a team divided by our partners._

In the bathroom, Yang had her hands up against her mouth. Sobs escaping through her nostrils as she let tears run down her face. _I want Ruby to see I love her. I want Blake to be our leader again. Everything just so damn WRONG!_ She resisted the urge to punch something, lest she alert Weiss.

The brawler instead lowered herself gently to the ground and curled her knees up to her chest, pressing her face into her knees as her arms wrapped around her legs. She was so strong for everyone, she was Yang Xiao Long. But when she was alone she was just a lonely 11 year old who, despite being around her friends, was longing for her little sister to come home.

_"Yang. I ran away, and Roman and Neo took me in. They trained me up and gave me a life and a purpose in life." _A glint had been in those silver eyes, yet no matter how many times Yang replayed that moment, she could never identify it. Anger? Was Ruby mad at her? Defiance? Did Ruby really not want to come home? Sorrow? Was Ruby being forced to say those things?

Yang let her body rattle in muffled sobs, and once she thought it was out of her system she got up and finished washing herself off before stepping outside.

"You look like shit." Ilia said bluntly. Apparently they had returned while Yang showered. Ilia was sitting on her bed, fiddling with Lightning Lash. Blake was reading on her bed.

"So? Our team is going to shit." She crossed her arms. Ilia glanced at the ground for a moment and said nothing.

"Yang, I'm sorry for how I've been acting." Blake half mumbled, half told her.

Yang wanted to forgive her in that moment, the two words right on the tip of her tongue.

"But actions speak louder than words, Blake. You and Ilia are always avoiding Yang and I. Its been that way ever since the docks. You don't talk during meals, you put pathetic work into our team training." Weiss cut in before Yang could have said those two words.

Her will faltered, she didn't want to contradict Weiss.

"I know. Its just we have a lot on our minds." Blake replied.

"Well can you put it aside? I'm tired of us being a dysfunctional team. The Vytal Festival and the tournament is coming up soon. Team BSIL needs to put their best foot forward." Weiss asked, blue eyes soft in emotions that raged like a storm.

"Yes." Blake nodded "We'll do our best. Weiss, Yang, we're sorry about it."

Ilia's eyes flashed a color for a second, but it was so fast none but possibly Blake could have caught it. "Yeah." She agreed.

"Team Basil?" Yang offered.

"Team Basil." The rest of her team echoed quietly.

* * *

**A/N: This isn't the end of team Basil being divided. They have a lot of work to do, and just a team meeting won't stop the issues that are developing. I'll apologize for any weirdness in the chapter. I wrote a vast majority of it tonight at 5am after no sleep. **


	20. Searching

Chapter 14: Searching

In Vale a bird wheeled into the skies, red eyes scanning the below streets. Just half an hour prior he had been called into a meeting with Ozpin, Goodwitch and Tai about Ruby.

_Qrow let the elevator doors open and ambled out. "What did you need me for?" He asked Ozpin. Glynda was standing next to Ozpin's desk and Taiyang was sitting in one of two chairs on the other side of Ozpin's desk. _

_"Sit down, Qrow." Ozpin offered, yet it was a command. For a moment the man was reminded of those dark brown eyes gleaming in disappointment over the antics of his team. Qrow sat and Ozpin leaned forward, folding his hands. "What we talk about in here stays in here, Qrow, Tai." _

_The two men nodded. "Of course, Oz." Qrow agreed. _

_"Good. I have an assignment for you both. As you know, its been revealed that Ruby Rose in without a doubt Red. Recently Yang and her team were at the docks in Vale and have ran into Red. Now I am certain miss Xiao Long is plotting to find her sister." Ozpin took a sip from his mug. _

_"Yang can't be serious." Tai sighed, seeming resigned. _

_"I don't doubt it, Tai." Qrow said, reaching for his flask and unscrewing it._

_"So why are Qrow and I here?" Tai asked, his foot tapping on the floor betraying the man's apprehension. _

_"Qrow is here to be our eyes in this operation. He will try and track any activities of Red and Torchwick." Ozpin stated. "Tai, you will be here to try and be our ears to hear whatever miss Xiao Long and her team plan to do."_

_Tai seemed taken aback. "Oz, I still have to teach at Signal." He protested. _

_"I understand. Just try and visit on weekends and maybe call Yang every now and again to check on her. I think its likely she'll confess to her father what she is doing." Ozpin stated. _

_Tai nodded. "Alright. I'll try." He agreed._

_"Glynda will be watching over team BSIL from within the school, and I'll keep my eyes and ears peeled on the news... And keep James at bay." Ozpin added the last part with a sigh._

_"Oh shit, I forgot about him. When is he due to arrive?" Qrow asked. _

_"He was supposed to be here at the beginning of the semester, but there was an issue that arose that kept him in Mantle. He'll be here tomorrow morning." Ozpin said. "I think we can end the meeting here. Report back with any information." _

_Qrow and Tai nodded. Tai headed to the elevator and Qrow cast one more glance to his teammate before transforming and flapping to Ozpin's open window._

He doubted Ruby would just _appear_ before him. Torchwick was many things, but Qrow knew the man was no fool. Thus, Ruby was likely laying low somewhere.

Still, he wanted to keep an eye out on the streets. He remembered there were whispers of a doberman that Torchwick and Ruby had.

He fluttered down to land on the top of a lamppost, and cocked his head as he saw a doberman trot down a street, a woman with green eyes and black hair was walking him on a chain leash.

_Not many people use chain now a-days._ Qrow mused in his mind, fluttering to the next lamppost to continue watching. The huntsman watched in interest as he saw a flash of green when the woman's eye darted to the side to look at him.

Qrow took flight, wheeling into the sky and following the girl. The dog and she walked to a park, where the girl unclipped the leash and put it in the backpack she had on her back. She withdrew a tennis ball and threw it. The doberman raced after it and Qrow saw for just a moment, its eyes darted upward. Gold met dull crimson before jaws clamped firmly around the ball and trotted back to the woman.

Something about the interaction Qrow just had unnerved him. But he took flight anyways and let a breeze carry him away from the two, keeping a mental note to watch for the two again.

In the meantime, he'd observe others.

* * *

"Alright, so we all have our jobs?" Yang asked, shifting her weight anxiously from foot to foot.

Weiss nodded. "I'll go to the CCT tower and ask about files for missing Dust shipments." The heiress stated.

"I'll be going to a White Fang rally." Blake said.

"I'll be checking a contact in the shady side of Vale." Yang punched a fist into her palm.

"And I'll —" Ilia was cut off by a knock.

"Blake, you didn't warn us!" Yang hissed. The faunus girl's gaze narrowed at the door.

"Hello?" A voice made Yang freeze in her tracks.

"Oh _no_." She whispered, eyes widening in horror. Her teammates gave her curious looks. "My dad is there" she mouthed to them.

"Is this Team Basil's dorm? Or did I get the wrong dorm number?" Blake pushed Yang forward, who dug her heels into the carpet while windmilling her arms in an attempt to stop her leader.

Blake grabbed Yang's arm and put her hand on the doorknob before forcing Yang's hand to open it. "Uh... hey dad! I wasn't expecting you here." Yang greeted. Blake had vanished, quite literally, the moment Yang had been forced to open the door.

"Heya sweetie. How are you doing?" Tai asked, peering over Yang's shoulder. The brawler followed her father's gaze as it swept over Ilia who was playing on her Scroll, Blake was reading, and Weiss was studying a Dust Theory text book as if it was the most interesting thing on Remnant. "Oh, did I come in on a bad time?" He asked.

"Uhhh yes! We're just really tired from... training! Yes, training with team attacks!" Yang said, repressing a nervous laugh.

"Team attacks? Its been ages since I've done those..." Tai's expression became wistful.

"Uh, so can you let us be? We just want to wind down." Yang said.

"Alright. But can I at least see your dorm?" Tai asked.

"You're literally looking into it." Blake deadpanned from her bed.

"I guess. But its been so long since I've been in a dorm!" He replied.

"I... uh..." Yang stuttered. Tai pushed his way inside.

"Oh I'll just be a few minutes." He said.

Yang cast a panicked glance at Blake, who closed her book and stood up as Tai looked around and commented on various things.

"Yang, you're sleeping up there?" He asked.

"Yeah, Weiss was opposing me on it because its "not stable" but I assure you its stable as can be!" Yang said, climbing up onto it and sitting cross legged. Her dad gave a small smile.

"So Beacon going good for you ladies?" He asked.

"Yep!" Yang popped the 'p'.

"But as I understand, you've been doing some things outside of school." Yang grew worried as her father's tone shifted to one he'd use when discussing something serious. "Yang, we've been over this. Please leave it to the huntsmen." He told Yang.

"I'm sorry, Dad." Yang let her head lower a fraction.

"Its alright, sweetie. We'll bring her home. I promise." He said.

Yang nodded.

"I'd better get back to Signal. Work to grade." He stated and cast a final glance around the room. "Be safe, girls." With a click, the door shut.

"Safe?" Yang mouthed to Blake. The team leader held a hand for a moment, apparently straining her ears.

"Its safe. We'd better get going or I'll possibly be late." Blake said.

"Alright, let's get going." Yang punched a fist into her palm.

* * *

Neo entered the apartment with Drei on her heels. She signaled to Drei to gain Ruby and Roman's attention, which the doberman did by barking four times.

"Welcome home!" Roman yelled from their room, walking out from it a few moments later. "How was your walk?" He asked.

'_Let's wait for Ruby to get here. Something happened today._' Neo said.

"Ohhh boy." Roman sighed, "Ruby!" He yelled "Come here please!"

There was silence for a moment, before Ruby yelled back "COMING!". There was the sound of trudging footsteps, and a sleepy Ruby walked out from her room. "...Yeah?" She asked after yawning.

"Alright Neo, tell us." Roman prompted.

Neo started signing. '_Drei and I were on our usual walk, when a black bird started staring at us. Drei noticed first and alerted me. I think there was something off about that bird. It followed us to the park and watched us when I played fetch with Drei. Maybe it was trained or had one of those fancy iris cameras on it. I was disguised the whole time.' _Neo explained.

"Hm. I don't see a reason why Vale authorities would be wasting a resource like an iris cam to follow around you and Drei. Unless Atlas has something to do with it and now they can magically detect if someone has Aura. If that's the case," Roman speculated

"Then that means they detected Drei's Aura." Ruby finished. "And they also detected Neo's. I've done research and its easy to tell an activated Aura from a non activated one for technology. I think a dog with active Aura is kinda suspicious." She added.

"Woo boy, this just keeps getting better and better." Roman sighed, rubbing his temples. "We'll have dinner and then we'll head over to the animal roundup thing." He said. Ruby snickered at him referring to the White Fang recruitment as such, and Neo smiled.


	21. Rally

Chapter 15: Rally

"Roman. I'm coming with you to the rally." Ruby stated.

A sigh was heard over her Scroll. _"Ruby, we've been over this. You aren't exactly a real "business partner" with the White Fang like myself." _Roman replied.

"But I—" Ruby was cut off

_"You've stepped out of line a time too many, Kiddo. Just... stay at home and watch the new Spruce Willis film or some shit. You don't even like the White Fang anyways."_ Roman told her. The girl was too aware of the razor edge Roman's words held.

Ruby remained silent, contemplating her choices.

_"Well?"_ Roman prompted after a few seconds. _"It shouldn't take you that long to say "Yes Roman" now should it?"_ He asked.

Now it was the silver-eyed girl's turn to sigh. Roman had flipped his shit last time, so it would be better to just put her head down and obey.

"Yes, Roman." She said at last, silver eyes staring downward despite her mentor not being able to see.

_"Good. Please just don't pull anything and show up_." Roman's voice was full of evident relief. _"You're not missing anything, I promise you that."_ He reassured.

"I know." Ruby mumbled, not even bothering to hide her dejection.

_"Cheer up. Neo and I will get you some cookies afterwards, I promise."_ Roman said.

"Thanks." Ruby still felt cast aside, but knew it was for her own good.

_"Love ya, kiddo."_ Roman said.

"Love you too, Roman. Bye." With that, Ruby clicked her Scroll out of the audio call.

She sighed.

Once again, laying low _sucked_.

* * *

Yang rode Bumblebee down the road, heading to Junior's club once more.

_If I found her here once, then perhaps she'd come back._ She thought as she dismounted and took her helmet off.

"Alright Ruby, maybe you're here." She said to herself and entered. Music pulsated through the air, the bass made the floor vibrate. "Guess who's back~!" She yelled.

To her amusement, the music cut out and a room full of guns were pointed her way.

"Wait, wait. Don't shoot!" Junior yelled.

"Ah, there you are. You owe me a drink I believe?" Yang smiled. Junior sighed.

"Yes, yes. Of course." He agreed. "But I assume that's not all your here for is it?" He asked, making Yang laugh.

"Was it too obvious?" She asked playfully.

"No," The man shook his head "I just think its convenient you come here so soon after the television announcements linking your "lost sister" to Red." Junior said.

"Well I guess I came here with a pretty good bribe." Yang smiled and withdrew the sack of lien cards Weiss lent her for that purpose. "No need to rough up the club again" Her partner had said.

Junior's eyes Immediately widened at the sight of the Schnee snowflake on the outside of the pouch. "Half of it now, I'll give the rest to you when I'm satisfied with your answer." Yang kept her hand firmly on the bag before opening it and withdrawing a few of the cards for Junior to inspect.

"Alright. What do you need from me?" He asked, eyeing the bag Yang held between her hands like a vulture watched a carcass of roadkill.

"Tell me everything you know about Red, Torchwick and Neo." Yang demanded, closing up the bag.

"Alright. Just come with me to one of my back rooms. I don't want the wrong ears hearing the stuff I'm gonna say. Roman will feed me to Drei after Neo and Red cut me up." Junior said. Yang nodded and allowed him to lead the way to one of the several doors that were on top of the balcony area.

"Nice place this is." Yang noted as they entered. Leather couches were around a large glass coffee table.

Junior sat down and Yang sat opposite to him. "Roman and Neo are old clients. The three of us go way back. Then about six years ago Roman mentioned Neo and he had taken on an apprentice who was the daughter of a deceased Huntress. Said her name is Ruby. A few weeks go by and they bring her around. Sweet little girl who was scared in public, Neo seemed pretty protective of her while Roman and I talked. They stop by once every few months to talk or get info. Sometimes just for drinks." Junior smiled "Ruby has the same taste in drinks as you. Strawberry Sunrise, except she likes hers with ice." He told her and leaned back.

Yang blinked in shock. Her sister drank?

Noticing it, Junior chuckled. "Its virgin, only Roman actually drinks. Neo sometimes has a few sips of whatever he has, but Ruby's forbidden from alcohol. Anyways, Roman and Neo reveal Ruby has started her career after a few years of training. I helped hook her up with the man who made her weapons, that she calls Dark Glory." Junior chuckled. "Then as fate would have it one day the three of them come to meet a woman who I would hear from Roman to be nicknamed "Psycho Pyro Bitch" and as Ruby and Neo called "her two shitty rats". You came, and the rest is history." Junior leaned forward.

"Do you know when they usually come around?" Yang asked.

"I wouldn't be coming to find them, Blondie. Last time Ruby was here she complained about you. You're a pain in all three of their asses." Junior warned.

"Noted," Yang rolled her eyes "Just tell me and you get the money, and I get out of here." She said.

Junior looked to the heavens, "I swear if you find her, no breaking my club again." He told her at last. "She's been laying low, but she came around once or twice this week behind Roman's back. Drei came with her the second time, apparently she said he wouldn't leave her alone until she clipped his leash on to take him with her. Said she'd come again on Thursday." Junior told her.

Yang perked up "One more thing and I swear the money's yours." She said "Who exactly is Drei? I get it that he's Ruby's dog. But is there anything I should know about him in case she brings him?" She asked.

Junior sighed "Alright. Drei is a doberman. About four years old. They trained him to be a watch dog, tracker, attack dog and a distraction for petty theft all at the same time. Ruby likes to walk him and they have an act where people pet him and Ruby pickpockets them. He has an Aura, semblance too. It makes him as smart as a human, maybe even more, and he's treated like one most of the time — even if we can't understand his exact words. Fiercely protective of the three of them. Don't get on his bad side or you'll be in for a rough time." Junior said.

Yang slid the pouch his way and stood up. "All yours. Thanks and I'll be back Thursday." She winked and let herself out of the room before exiting the club.

_Got what I needed. Thx Weiss 4 the money 2 bribe him. _She typed out to the BSIL group chat

* * *

Roman smiled to Neo. "Nice and easy job, Neo." He told her. _Obviously, dipshit. _Neo's body language basically said. "What?" He asked. Neo sighed.

'_Drei's pretty damn upset. I can't think as to why.' _Neo signed, turning to the doberman who sat next to her with alert ears.

Roman regarded the dog, and let out a low groan. "Care for me to guess, Drei?" He asked. Drei turned his attention to him. "Its about Red, isn't it?" He guessed. Drei barked "Dear God almighty Drei." He exclaimed. "You know as well as we do that she _can't_ go out!" Drei's ears lowered and a rumble emanated from his chest.

_'Haven't we been a bit harsh on her? She's resorted to sneaking out behind our backs to Junior's.'_ Neo signed.

"Its for her — wait _what?_ Neo!" Roman exclaimed "Why did you not tell me about this? Ugh." He sighed and rubbed at an eye.

'_I didn't tell you because Drei was with her. Not to mention Junior's is relatively safe. I'm saying she's a teenager — this is her being rebellious probably. Wouldn't you hate it if I ordered you to stay inside 24/7?' _Neo told him.

Roman sighed but before he could say anything, his cue came. Drei licked at his glove as he passed, and he let himself smile for a second before coming into view of all the faunus. The vast majority of them were already White Fang members, but they had gathered a good number of new recruits.

"Thank you, thank you. Hold your applause!" He smiled again as Neo walked behind him and headed to the side while Drei followed right at her heel. Jeers met his entrance, much to his amusement.

"What's a human doing here?" A deer faunus yelled.

"I'm glad you asked, deerie! Now I'll be the first to admit, humans are the worst. Case and point!" He saluted and continued on "So I understand your anger at us. You want us locked away, or better yet, _killed! _But before the claws come out, I'd like to mention we all have a common enemy: the people in charge. Those filthy, nasty humans who pull the strings and run our kingdoms! Government, military, even schools! They're all to blame for your lot in life! And they're all pests who need to be dealt with. Fortunately, I'm one of the best exterminators around, no offense to any rodents in the room."

With a snap of his fingers, the curtain lowered to reveal a toy that Ruby would have died to play with. An Altesian Paladin.

"As some of you may have heard, this right here is Atlas' newest defense against all the big and scary things in the world. And thanks to my employer, we've managed to snag a few before they've "hit the shelves". Now many of your brothers have moved down to our new operation in the southeast. If you'd rather stay within the city that's fine. But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in, this is the arsenal I can provide. Any questions?" His work done, he stepped back to where Neo met him.

_'Kitty cat, 11 o' clock.'_ She signed.

"God. Fucking. Dammit." Roman hissed, spotting a familiar face as the Lieutenant called forward the new recruits. "Drei, Neo. Go get the ship ready. I'll deal with her." He sighed.

In a split second, Blake's weapon rose up and the warehouse went black moments before Roman scrambled into the giant paladin.

* * *

**A/N: I know some of you aren't pleased with me once again drawing directly from the show, but I tried to throw in changes to the content. I'm sorry for that, but its what I needed to do in order to set up for what's to come next chapter and the near future. **


	22. Encounter

Chapter 16: Encounter

Roman drove the paladin through a wall, pursuing Blake.

_Of fucking course Yang's team decides to come and fuck shit up! _He thought, chasing the cat faunus onto a highway and knocking cars out of the way as Blake leapt from car roof to car roof.

Suddenly a blur of white jumped down, slamming her rapier into the ground and a sheet of ice erupting around Roman. "FUCK!" He yelled as the paladin lost traction and slid through one of the hard Dust barriers. He flipped through the air and rightened himself to see the color changing girl. The rest of her team landed near her. "Go!" Blake yelled. Roman sighed. This would fucking _suck_.

* * *

Neo watched in interest from the shadows as Roman tried fending off the team of girls. The Schnee and Yang produced basically a smoke screen before the Schnee girl and Blake started striking the paladin rapidly. They switched out to Blake and the color changing girl and they were landing strong strikes. Suddenly Roman got a good hit on Yang and she internally cheered. She didn't have to look down to know Drei was watching intently as well. But to her horror Yang got up with blazing hair as she de-limbed the paladin. Drei whined and put a paw over his muzzle as if to shield his eyes.

_Well this is probably our cue._ She thought and waved a hand towards a White Fang grunt who was waiting with them. He nodded and ran to the airship and started it up. Neo snapped her fingers and signaled to Drei to run ahead. The doberman did so, sprinting towards where Roman was.

* * *

Yang watched Torchwick climb out of the paladin.

"We really need to stop meeting like this, ladies. Red isn't here tonight!" He called. Suddenly a doberman sprinted towards Roman and threw itself at Yang. Yang braced an arm and felt Drei knock her down with his razor teeth biting into her arm that Yang coated in her Aura.

"Yang!" Blake yelled.

"I got this." Yang grunted. "Down boy!" She yelled, kicking Drei back. The doberman twisted in the air with surprising grace and charged at Yang again. She leapt out of the way and only had a split second as the dog skidded to a momentary halt before changing course. Yang saw in horror that her teammates were attempting to prepare to attack Drei "Don't!" Yang yelled in desperation "Don't attack him!" They froze in place as Yang ducked under another attempted flying take down and grabbed one of his hind legs before lifting him above her head and throwing him towards Torchwick. "Bad dog!" She chided.

Suddenly Torchwick slammed his cane down. "Stand down." He muttered to Drei as a multicolored woman appeared before the two. "Good timing." He noted. Yang saw multicolored eyes meet her own and a realization hit her — this must be Neo. Neo gave Drei a few head pats and he gave a doggy grin with a lolling tongue before he became serious again and a growl rumbled. "Ladies, Ice Queen." Roman gave a small salute "Yang. Red asked me to pass along a message: Fuck you." His salute turned swiftly to him flipping off Yang. "Neo, if you would."

Neo bowed and Yang launched herself the woman's way. The moment her fist made contact, the image of all three shattered and a bullhead pulled away with the trio inside it.

"Well she made our plan... fall apart?" Weiss offered.

"Not now, Weiss." Yang said, eyes tracking the airship before it vanished from sight. "So that was Neo." She murmured.

"Neo?" Blake echoed.

"I'll explain later. Let's just go home." Yang said.

* * *

Ruby perked up to the sound of the door opening and shot through the air, knocking herself into Roman and Neo. "You're back!" She yelled. Roman patted her head.

"Of course we are." He agreed.

"You're late. Why?" She asked with a frown. She had grown anxious when Roman and Neo had taken over a half hour later to come home.

"Your damn sister's teammates were there. The cat faunus. She watched the rally and shot out the power. I tracked her down but her teammates were there..." Roman glanced at Neo. "Neo and Drei got me out in the nick of time." He said.

"Yang was there, wasn't she?" Ruby asked.

Roman sighed "Yep." He popped the 'p'. Ruby's eyes narrowed.

"Of course she was. She didn't listen to my warning, than." She said. "I'm gonna need to get Dark Glory back. I..." she sighed "I have no choice. I'm a girl of my word."

Neo's gaze softened in sympathy for a moment, placing a hand on her shoulder. Ruby shrugged it off. "Its fine. It would've happened anyway." She told the mute."

* * *

The next night, Ruby and Neo watched the police station. "We're gonna have to go in blind, I guess." She sighed. "No way we could figure it out."

"Figure what out, exactly?" Both girl jumped, Ruby letting out a shriek as she and Neo leapt into defensive stances. "Oh calm down." Amber eyes were warm as Sora's tail swished the air. "Its just me, Sora." She smiled.

Neo and Ruby relaxed "How did you find us?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, my Semblance is a tracking semblance." Sora said as if it was the most obvious thing on Remnant.

'_More importantly,_' Neo signed '_Why are YOU of all people here?_' Before Ruby could translate, Sora's smile brightened.

'_I'm here to help you guys get Dark Glory back!_' The fox faunus signed.

"You know VSL?" Ruby asked.

"Yep! I learned it after a friend of mine went deaf." Sora told them. "Now, that aside — what's the plan?"

"Wait, wait. Why help us?" Ruby asked.

"I dunno. Mutual hatred of Vale authorities? Because I'm as Sab' puts it "Too nice for a terrorist"?" She tilted her head.

"Eh, let's just let her help." Ruby said to Neo's disapproving frown.

"Great!" Sora gave a little happy bounce. "So, our plan of action?" She asked.

"We didn't quite get there." Ruby admitted.

Sora's tail tip flicked "Oh! I can help!" She clapped her hands together before bringing her Scroll up. Tapping a few buttons showed a 3d model of the police station with labeled rooms.

"How... did you get that?" Ruby asked.

"White Fang intel. I'm actually not supposed to be able to have this, but because Sable is so high rankIng I used her clearance to get this map for myself." Sora explained and started zooming in around area. "Now most likely Dark Glory is either in weapons storage where they put confiscated weapons, or in the room where they hide evidence." She stated and placed what seemed to be red markers on two rooms. Zooming back out, Sora explained the best paths to those rooms. "Now, ready?" She asked.

"Alright." Ruby said and Neo nodded.

Neo disguised herself as a police officer and threw up an illusion that hid Ruby. She led Sora into the station.

"Hey, welcome..." Ruby ran behind the desk and knocked the police officer out with a series of jabs.

The trio moved to the stairs that led to evidence holding, and Sora walked down with a quiet salute.

Neo continued to hide Ruby as they went to the weapons storage. They were met with an electronic lock, which Neo looked at and rolled her eyes. Reaching into a bag she brought, she withdrew several tools and motioned for Ruby to take them.

Ruby did so and started to work on the lock while Neo waited in case she had to fight any officers off.

A hiss filled the air after several minutes, and they were in.

Several weapons were under lock and key, each labeled with a name.

Heading to the back, Ruby saw to her immense relief that Dark Glory was in its own container, and went to work on the lock.

It clicked open and Ruby nearly cried as she withdrew her baby and held it close. Unsheathing the blade, it seemed in perfect condition and she nodded to Neo.

A text rang in Ruby's Scroll from an unknown number.

_Had to go. Sable found out I'm here. Hopefully you find Dark Glory. — Sora_

_Found her. Thank you!_ Ruby texted back and nodded to Neo.

* * *

Yang tapped her foot anxiously. The day had come where Ruby was expected to be at Juniors.

She stared at the door, and suddenly a girl in a red tank top with green eyes walked into the area. A doberman on a chain leash walked at her heel.

Green met lavender, and Ruby walked towards the bar. Junior stopped serving a patron in order to greet the criminal. Yang stood up and walked as fast as she could to her sister.

"Junior, can we have a room?" Ruby asked, but it came as a stiff growl. Junior nodded and led the two of them up to the same room Junior and Yang talked in.

"Your drinks will be here soon." He said and shut the door.

Neither teen moved to sit. Ruby unclipped Drei's leash and the doberman moved so he could watch both.

"Yang." The blonde realized her sister was armed. "Why the fuck are you here?"

"I'm here to talk, I swear." Yang moved to sit down. Ruby and Drei refused to move. "Look. I'm not going to do a thing." She looked at Ember Celica, and reluctantly took off the bracelets before sliding them on the table away from herself.

"Alright." Ruby refused to take her weapon off, and walked to the couch opposite to the table Yang was at. "What did you want to talk about?"

Yang felt relief fill her as she realized Ruby wasn't going to kill her. "Just... how have you been?"

"Good." Ruby replied.

"What you've been up to?" Yang prodded, wondering if Ruby would reveal anything.

"Like I'd tell _you_." Drei moved to the table and put his head on Ruby's lap with a sigh. "I know." She murmured to the doberman.

"Why not?" Yang immediately slapped her palm to her forehead "Oh, right. Illegal criminal stuff." She said.

"Yeah, Illegal criminal stuff." Ruby's eyes narrowed and Drei huffed.

"Sorry." Yang looked at her lap for a moment as their drinks arrived.

"You really do have the same taste as me." Both said in unison, reaching for their drinks. Drei made a sound and Ruby gave him the side-eye, while Yang laughed.

"Oh hush you." Ruby told Drei, which made Yang laugh harder. Ruby allowed a smile to creep through.

"You really are my little sister." She smiled, but Ruby frowned.

"I'm nothing to you, and you are nothing to me but a pest." Those words caused the humor in the air to wither and die faster than a heartbeat. Silence filled the room, and Drei yawned as Ruby took a small sip of her Strawberry Sunrise.

"Is this all you wanted? To talk with me?" Ruby asked, voice cold.

"Yeah, I haven't —" Yang brightened up but her bubble of excitement was burst when Ruby leaned forward.

"You haven't done anything for me," The criminal's tone was hard and full of open resentment "You would rather be with your friends to distract yourself from your drunk ass father and your sister who didn't have _anyone_!" The hand holding her drink moved to set the glass down. "You don't get it, Yang. People change. Grief changes people, and its changed me more than you realize! I've found a family who loves me and sees me as a person and not a reminder of someone who will always fucking _overshadow_ me!" Her hands curled into fists and Drei whined, nudging her side with his snout. "I'm fucking not Summer, Yang. And I'm not your fucking sister. I'm a criminal and my family are too. Be the hero you aspire to be, Yang. I already know my own path." Ruby's words were colder than Mantle's winter.

"Ruby, please..." Yang pleaded while Ruby took another sip of her drink.

"No!" Ruby yelled, and stood up before hurling the glass from her hand. It went flying towards Yang's face, who ducked and the glass shattered on the wall behind them. "I'm so fucking _done_! If we were ANYWHERE else but Junior's club, I would kill you right here and right fucking now." Ruby stalked forward. Drei barked, trying to draw the girl's attention. "Stay out of this, Drei!" Ruby snapped before Dark Glory whirled from its sheathe and the blade tip was pointed at Yang's face. "I swear this is your last fucking warning. _Get out of my life or I will kill you!_" Ruby snarled and turned around.

Yang took a chance. It might end up getting her killed, but it was her only opportunity. She lunged forward and pinned Ruby's arms to her side while knocking Dark Glory from Ruby's hands.

Drei barked fiercely, but Yang activated her semblance and stared down the doberman. Using her "I'm mad at Zwei" commanding voice, she yelled "DREI, SIT!" The doberman growled, ears pinning as he sat. He was confused and moved to stand but Yang glared at him and he sat back down.

"Dr-" before Ruby could command Drei, Yang covered her sister's mouth.

"Good boy." Yang praised, her voice a growl. "Now stay or I'll have to hurt her, and neither of us want that."

"You won't be hurting anyone." The two twin girls that were apart of Junior's club stepped inside alongside the man himself.

"Yang, get out please." Junior seemed tired. "Drei, to me." Drei looked to Ruby before walking reluctantly to the man's side. "Ruby. Roman and Neo are on their way now. Yang, get out or you'll have one hell of a bad evening. They're mad enough at Ruby and they'll gladly turn it on you instead." He said.

"I'm bringing her home." Yang said firmly while Ruby struggled against her.

"Bringing her back to Patch will only cause more trouble. Vale will arrest her the moment she's spotted. Besides, what else will she do? There's no way society will give her a good hand. She's a mass murderer and criminal." Junior explained, tone surprisingly calm, as if he was explaining it to a small child.

Yang was silent, until the two twins walked out of the room and a second later Roman and Neo leapt in. In a second, a blade was between Yang's shoulder blades.

"Put her down, blondie. I thought twice in the same month was enough for us both." Roman said.

"I'm bringing Ruby home!" Yang said. The blade prodded her. "Get your stick away from me you psycho." Yang spat at Neo. The blade prodded again, a little harsher this time.

"No. You're going to release Ruby right this instant. She's terrified and if you take her away with force, she'll probably turn on you the second you leave her alone." Roman explained.

Yang didn't realize it, but her own palms were sweaty. She moved it away from Ruby's mouth, and Ruby gave the command "Drei, get her!"

Hell broke loose as Junior tried to grab Drei's collar and Neo stepped away while Drei barked up a storm and charged Yang. She had to choose between keeping Ruby close to her or defending against the furious Doberman. Yang stood her ground as he lunged at her back and tore at her jacket. Yang let her Aura take the brunt of it. Suddenly pain hit the back of her knees as Neo knocked her legs out from under her. She caught herself at the price of releasing Ruby, who vanished from her arms and stood there for a moment before vanishing from the room.

"Drei, to me!" Roman commanded. Drei tore at Yang's arm as she tried to knock him away. "I said TO ME!" He yelled. Drei barked in Yang's ears, until at last Neo had clipped his leash to his collar and with surprising strength, dragged him off her. Roman picked up Dark Glory.

Yang panted for breath, watching Neo forcefully drag Drei out of the room with Roman following. "Hopefully this time you learn your lesson." He said before exiting.

"Get out. Don't bother coming back." Junior growled as the two girls grabbed Yang under the arms to take her away.

* * *

**A/N: Bet you all saw THAT coming. Yang just doesn't know when to stop, does she? They could have had a non-violent, albeit tense, sister to sister conversation — but Yang went ahead and decided attempted kidnapping was the better route. Next chapter we see the consequences for Yang, and I'll say Cinder's plan will be coming to fruition soon I think.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**P.S. **

**I want to say Sora is not the same as Sable. She has nothing to do with the plan, she's honestly just a nice White Fang member and saw nothing wrong with helping Ruby and Neo out.**


	23. Omake2

Omake 2: Sick Day

Ruby woke up early in the morning, ready for the day's events. She felt a bit of lasting grogginess as she shuffled out of her bedroom to find a note from Roman explaining he and Neo were busy with a heist, Drei was with them.

Heading to the coffee pot, she saw Neo and Roman had left her more than enough for the morning and she poured herself a cup. Adding cream and sugar like always, she finished and put cinnamon swirl bread in the toaster.

As she waited for it to pop up, she sipped her coffee. It popped up and she buttered it before putting it on a plate to eat. Sitting on the couch, Ruby turned on the tv as she took a bite while a comedy played.

Finishing her breakfast, Ruby stood up to put her dishes in the sink, but her legs seemed to suddenly have been replaced with jello. She wobbled and regained her balance to shuffle to the sink.

As she headed back to the couch, she closed her eyes and nearly tripped over Roman's armchair. _What's going on with me?_ She wondered as she sat down and watched the program that changed to a courtroom drama.

Soon a headache began pounding on her skull and she turned off the television before shivering. _When did it get cold? _Ruby asked herself, reaching for a blanket that was folded on the end of the couch and wrapping herself in it. She was sleepy and reached for her coffee, only to not have a firm grip and the mug tumbled from her fingers onto the carpet. "Shiiiiiit..." Ruby mumbled at the spreading stain.

Attempting to get up again, her body rejected and she flopped hopelessly back down. _Am I sick?_ She thought groggily, headache pounding full force.

She threw off her blanket as suddenly it became boiling hot. _Maybe I am._ She decided she had to go and get to her Scroll. "Fuuuck... its in my room." She groaned and forced herself to get off of the couch. The process involved trying to sit up and her head deciding it wanted to make her _feel_ Remnant spinning on its axis. Then she tried to swing her legs to stand, and instead rolled off of the couch, nearly cracking her head on the coffee table. Last but not least, she attempted to get onto her hands and knees to crawl her way to her room, but her jello limbs refused to cooperate.

_I'll just rest for a second and get my strength back._ Ruby decided, _Then I'll text Roman and Neo and tell them I'm not well._

She let herself fall on her stomach, resting her face on the carpet and her eyes drifted shut.

* * *

Roman unlocked the door to the apartment, and was greeted by dead silence. "We're home!" He called out as Drei scampered towards Ruby's room.

There was no return of a greeting, no happy noises of Drei as Ruby cuddled him. The doberman walked out of her room, seeming unsure before his ears flattened in alarm. A worried bark filled the apartment, and Neo was right at his side in an instant. Multicolored eyes looked at Roman in a way that demanded he come.

The sight that greeted the criminal was terrifying. A coffee cup was on its side on the carpet. Ruby was laying on her stomach with closed silver eyes as Neo shook her shoulder.

"Ruby?!" Roman gasped. Silver eyes inched open.

"Neo...?" The girl croaked, Drei shoved his way next to Neo to inspect Ruby in worry.

"Ruby, what happened?" Roman asked, standing over Neo.

"I... think I'm... sick." Ruby mumbled. Neo pressed the back of her hand to Ruby's forehead and gasped.

"Fever?" Roman guessed. Neo nodded and stepped back. "Can you walk?" He asked, to which Ruby weakly shook her head. "Alright." He said and carefully scooped the girl up in his arms and carried her slowly to her room.

"How was... the heist?" Ruby asked quietly as he entered her room.

"Good. We got a good amount of jewelry." Roman told her softly as he set her down and pulled the covers over her. The criminal took his glove off on a hand and felt her forehead himself. She was hot to touch.

A tug on his sleeve alerted him to Neo with a thermometer which he took gratefully and Ruby accepted the device. When it beeped, he read out 103.1F. Neo frowned at the reading and withdrew. Drei jumped onto the girl's bed and Roman gave his head a pat. "Stay with her and bring us if anything changes." He told the doberman. Drei huffed in agreement and moved so he was right next to Ruby's head and laid down parallel to her body.

Roman sighed and stepped out from the room. "Well, we better cancel our plans." He sighed to Neo, who was cleaning up the coffee spill.

* * *

Ruby slept fitfully, barely remembering feeling strong arms lifting her up and placing her in a soft bed.

When she awoke, she felt her stomach churning in violent protest. Whatever thoughts she could possibly put together was that this was not good in the slightest.

She must have let out a sound of some sort, but a cold wet feeling was pressed on her cheek. Ruby opened her eyes and two gold orbs stared back in concern. "H...ey." She whispered, a hand shifting to try and move and pet Drei. The doberman gave a soft whine and moved his head to meet her hand before licking it gently.

But a violent protest from her stomach sent her flying out of her bed and sprinting for her trashcan as Drei barked up a storm in clear panic.

"Ruby!" Roman and Neo burst in the room mere seconds after Ruby reached the bin and her stomach expelled its contents. A brisk tapping of claws echoed rapid footsteps as Neo and Roman each put a hand on her shoulder. "Its alright Ruby, get it out." Roman soothed. Ruby trembled, and Neo rubbed her back. "You got it out?" Roman asked, to which Ruby nodded and was guided to her feet and half carried to her bed. Neo grabbed her trash can and moved it to the side of her bed as Roman set her down and Drei moved back into his position.

Neo vanished again and Roman hovered by her bedside until a wet cloth was placed over Ruby's forehead.

"Thanks..." She mumbled and her stomach tried expelling more content. Ruby gagged as she leaned over her bed with Neo holding her hair back as bile dripped from her lips. Her stomach heaved again, but thankfully nothing came out.

"I think that's all of it." Roman murmured and Ruby was guided back to laying down. The criminal had been speaking as she fell back asleep.

* * *

'_Poor thing._' Neo signed, frowning at the sleeping Ruby.

'_She's never been sick before._' Roman signed back, scared that talking would wake the girl.

'_Hopefully she gets over it soon._' Neo signed.

'_She's Ruby. She'll be over it before we know it and back to being a mass murderer and thief._' Roman replied as they walked from Ruby's room.

'_I'm sure she will._' Neo agreed.

* * *

True to their predictions, Ruby awoke the next morning ravenous. Neo had prepared soup for the girl, and helped her sit up in bed to eat it.

"Sorry about that..." Ruby said before having another spoonful of soup.

'_It's alright, Ruby._' Neo signed '_We all have our days._'

"I'll be back to full power by tomorrow!" Ruby declared.

'_Don't push yourself. You'll be taking a few days off just to be sure._' Neo stated.

"Nooooo..." Ruby groaned.

Suddenly there was the sound of retching coming from outside of the room, and Drei put a paw to his muzzle as Neo rolled her eyes.

'_It seems we have another patient._' Neo noted and stood up to check on Roman.

Not surprisingly, he was rinsing his mouth out in their bathroom, face pale.

Neo snapped her fingers to gain his attention. "Oh... hi Neo. I guess you have another patient." Roman gave a nervous smile.

Neo could only facepalm.

* * *

**A/N**:**Most likely takes place a few months before the encounter with Cinder. Just wanted something else for the story and wanted to do a sick fic. Hope you enjoyed!**


	24. Repercussions

Chapter 17: Repercussions

"Yang!" Her teammates raced to the door when Yang stumbled in.

"You smell like alcohol." Blake noted, "Where have you been?"

"Alcohol? Is she drunk?" Weiss asked sharply.

"No, I'm not —" Yang tried to protest but Ilia stalked around her backside

"Woah. Okay." Was all the chameleon faunus said, staring at the holes in her clothes made by Drei's attack.

"I'm fine!" Yang turned to shoo Ilia away, revealing the torn up backside of her jacket to Weiss and Blake.

"Yang, what were you doing?" Weiss demanded, grabbing her partner by the shoulders.

"Just relaxing and having a night off." Yang shrugged and felt a bit of pain in her back. Sadly although Aura protected against physical harm it didn't mean it didn't stop _pain_.

"And how did this turn into you looking like you got in a fight with an Ursa?" Ilia asked.

"Where are your weapons?" Blake's words sent a chill down the brawlers spine. She suddenly remembered how she set Ember Celica down on the table to show Ruby she wasn't a threat.

Yang sighed. She knew she was cornered either way. "Junior's club. Went there for a few drinks, got in a brawl or somethin' and left Ember Celica behind on accident." She said.

"And this has nothing to do with Red?" Weiss asked, removing her hands.

Yang sighed and remembered her promise. "It does. I was told by my friend the other night she'd be there. We met, and Drei attacked me." She said.

"Drei?" Her teammates echoed.

"The dog from the docks?" Blake asked. Yang nodded.

"So Ruby brought her dog." Weiss said "And it attacked you."

"Yeah. I'm fine though, my Aura saved me from any serious damage." Yang shrugged. "At least I have backup jackets."

"Yang, don't keep secrets like that from us." Blake said. Yang frowned, but nodded.

"Alright, I won't." She agreed softly. Weiss app

"Yang. We want to be a team again — you're not helping by sneaking off to see Red and getting nearly mauled by her dog." Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I'm sorry about that. I just wanted Ruby to come home with me." Yang sighed.

"And I get that," Weiss nodded, blue eyes full of understanding "but please stop being reckless. Or at least tell us where your going and why, so we don't have a panic attack when you show up after being torn into by Red's rabid animal." She said.

"Yeah..." Yang nodded. "I think we should just go to bed now." She sighed.

* * *

"Remind me why we can't just pack up our bags and leave?" Ruby asked, throwing Dark Glory in the air and catching it by the handle. The girl was laying on the couch and playing with her weapon.

"Ruby don't do that, you'll stab yourself." Roman chided. "We can't because Cinder needs us, and she'd track us down and kill us in a heartbeat." He said.

Neo tracked the movement of Dark Glory in the air as Ruby threw it again. "Alright I guess. But what will happen when she has no more use of us?" She asked, catching the blade and pausing to look at Drei when the dog barked "I'm fine, this is perfectly safe." She rolled her eyes and tossed the weapon again.

"Well we'll probably move on to another place. Mistral seems good for rats like us." Roman said.

The whole time, Neo had inched closer to the couch, and when Ruby gave a sloppier throw, she snatched it out of the air mid-rotation. "Hey!" Ruby objected, reaching her arms up to grab her weapon. Neo shook her head.

'_Don't do that, Ruby. You'll seriously poke your eye out.' _Neo signed after setting the weapon down on the coffee table.

"Oh come on, Neo!" Ruby sighed overly dramatically. "I'm fiiine." She whined and let her arms drop down. "I have Aura for a reason." She gave the duo a pout.

"You're not. You were absolutely stupid! Yang was there and you allowed yourself to get disarmed by her?" Roman's voice rose slightly, and Ruby shrank down.

"She wasn't posing an immediate threat, and Drei was there with me." She said, looking anywhere but at the criminal.

"Immediate threat? Ruby that's bullshit! She's a huntress in training, she's a CONSTANT threat!" Roman snapped. "I'm sick and tired of this disobedience! You're going to be coming to Mount Glenn with us and you're working alongside those damn animals as punishment." He said.

"Fine." Ruby said softly. She had disobeyed too many times and the girl recognized she needed to start listening to Roman and Neo before she got into any more trouble.

"Good." Roman nodded. "We're gonna leave in a few weeks, so until that time no tv and no going out and no DustTube." He told her.

"What?! Roman! Isn't physical labor and humiliation enough punishment?" Ruby complained.

"I doubt it. I want you to stop meeting with Yang — any more and I'll make this seem like a joke." Roman's green gaze held a dark and serious gleam. Ruby looked away from him, she could tell he was severely disappointed in her.

"I wasn't meeting her on purpose. She just _happened_ to be there when I went to wind down!" Ruby threw her arms in the air, slumping further and staring at the ceiling.

"That sounds like bullshit." Roman noted

Ruby gave a growl of frustration. "It _wasn't_! Ask Junior, I never asked around about her! She found _me_ there and wanted to talk."

"And you didn't kill her? _Like you promised to?_" Roman asked, the second part a growl. The silver eyed thief sprung to her feet.

"I couldn't in front of an entire CLUB!" Ruby's voice grew louder. "Drei was there — he saw the entire thing! I didn't _know_ Yang would be there, I swear it!" She was nearly shouting. Fuming, she whirled onto him. "Well? You know I wouldn't leave the house without you!" She told the dog. Drei yawned, whining. "Don't give me that!" Ruby spat "Tell them I'm not lying!"

Blazing silver met gold head on, and Drei barked once before turning to Roman and his head bobbed.

"She's not bribing you, is she?" Roman asked.

"What kind of idiotic question is that? I'd have no time from then to now to bribe him!" Ruby yelled.

There was a snap of Neo's fingers, and both turned to the mute who walked to Ruby's side. '_I believe her story._' She signed and Ruby opened her mouth to thank the mute, but Neo's hands moved again. '_But,_' Ruby felt terror grip her heart '_That doesn't excuse the fact that she let herself get apprehended by an unarmed Yang._' Neo said, giving Ruby a pointed glare. The girl shrunk down.

"I'm sorry, Neo..." Ruby whimpered. She was scared of Roman, yes. But Neo was just as, if even more so, terrifying as the man.

'_I'm gonna make you work until we go to Mountain Glenn. Not fun stuff like heists either. Boring tasks, like errands.'_ Neo signed. Ruby sighed and nodded.

"I... Understand." She said at last.

"Good." Roman said.


	25. Relocation

Chapter 18: Relocation

Ruby sighed as she looked out the transport window. Their bullhead was rapidly approaching Mountain Glenn, where phase two of their plan was going to happen.

Roman had explained to her what was going to happen. They would blow a hole in the sealed off tunnels under Mountain Glenn into Vale, releasing hundreds of Grimm into the city.

He didn't tell her _why_ they were doing it — but the girl had a suspicion they had no clue either. All Cinder did was hold secrets from them.

"Look sharp all of you!" Roman ambled from the cockpit, Drei padding at his heel. Gold met silver and Ruby sighed under her breath before looking to Roman. As part of her punishment, Neo gave the idea of making Ruby ride in the belly of the bullhead with the White Fang members. Before they had taken off, Neo had told them that Ruby had no authority over them and would work alongside them. "Welcome to Mountain Glenn. This place has Grimm crawling around on the surface, drawn here from the failure of the settlement. Luckily we'll be underground, where there's less Grimm." Roman informed the group. "Get ready to unload and join your brothers and sisters." He said before turning and heading back inside.

Drei looked at Ruby one more time and whined with sad gold eyes. Ruby felt the same. She wanted him to be next to her, to pet him and feel him be close. But Neo convinced Drei it'd be better for her to not have him to distract her.

After a heartbeat, Drei turned around to follow Roman, and vanished into the cockpit.

Ruby felt the bullhead land, and she exhaled softly before standing up and following the White Fang members out into the landing area.

"Welcome, brothers and sister! Right this way to where you'll be assigned a task!" Ruby spotted a familiar head of blue hair, and walked with the other faunus.

"Red, it's great to see you again!" Sora exclaimed. "I hope you got Dark Glory." She said. Ruby noted her amber eyes were covered by a White Fang mask akin to her sister's.

"I didn't know you'd be here, Sora." Ruby said, glad to see a familiar face.

"Sable sent me here because she wants me to be looked after while she does business elsewhere in Vale." Sora informed her. Ruby nodded.

"So what task am I being given?" Ruby asked.

Sora consulted her scroll. "Hmmm. I think there's room for you to work with car 18. You'll be able to meet Akari, she's the friend I told you about who is deaf." She told Ruby.

Ruby nodded and headed on her way. Arriving at the designated car, she was met with an eager woman with white hair and wolf ears. '_You must be Red. Its a pleasure to meet you._' She signed to Ruby.

'_You must be Akari. The pleasure is mine._' Ruby signed back with a smile before they shook hands. '_Sora speaks highly of you._' Ruby told Akari, who flushed.

'_You know her?_' Akari asked. Ruby nodded

'_She helped Neo and I get my weapon back._' Ruby replied.

"Lets get a move on!" A tall man with black hair and a wolf tail strode towards them under his arm was a bundle of clothes. He tapped Akari's shoulder and she turned around.

'_Malu, this is Red. She knows Sora._' The woman introduced. The man, Malu, nodded his head.

"Roman and Neo told me about your punishment. Take this." He gave Ruby the bundle. To her abject horror it was a White Fang outfit complete with a mask worn by recruits. "I know. I'm not happy about it either." He agreed, seeing her face.

"Neo put you up to this, didn't she?" Ruby could just _see_ Neo's shit eating grin as she said Ruby should wear the outfit.

Malu sighed "Yes. There's a closed off area over here for you to change. I'll personally deliver your clothes to Roman when your done." He said.

Ruby nodded reluctantly and plodded away. Akari stopped her with a poke to her shoulder. '_What's that for?_' She signed, pointing at the clothes.

Ruby's shoulders slumped '_This is part of my punishment for disobeying Roman. I have to work with you guys like a faunus. And Neo thought it'd be funny to dress me up like one as well._' She informed Akari.

'_Oh._' Was all Akari signed before heading off back to the train car to continue working.

* * *

"A change of plans is in order, Cinder." Sable stepped out of the shadow she appeared from.

The woman in question jolted before turning around to meet Sable who was leaning against a wall. "And why would we need to change our plan to eliminate Red?" Cinder asked.

"An opportunity had arisen." Sable said. "Red has accompanied Roman and Neopolitan to Mountain Glenn. Perhaps there is a way for us to cause a fair bit of chaos and possibly dispose of the three of them." Sable said. "Yang Xiao long and her team have been shown to be pursuing the trail of Red in hopes of Yang reuniting with her lost sister. If we tip them off that Red is at Mountain Glenn, it will cause chaos with possibly the plan being put into action sooner."

"Sooner?" Cinder asked "What do you have in mind?"

"Team missions will be occurring soon. If we bring upon circumstances where the four of them are presented with information that Red will be there, they will be inclined to take up said mission. In the chaos an... accident can occur that allows Red to be killed." Sable said.

"And Roman and Neo won't know we had a hand in it?" Cinder questioned "They'll be wanting to avenge her."

"All in good time, Cinder. We have a bit of time before we must act. The dance is coming up, and after that are team missions." Sable said.

"Alright. We'll talk later — I need to head back to Beacon." Cinder said.

* * *

**A/N**

**At this point I realize I fucked something up. I realize that Neo is a part of Cinder's "team" and instead she's with Roman and Ruby. With that said, I doubt I'll have to mention their fourth. If I do, I'll make it some random White Fang member or something. **

**Fun fact, Malu and Akari are from the same universe as Sable and Sora, but with different names. There's another member to their group, but she'll probably cameo a bit later on.**

**I don't really know if there's much left to touch on before BSIL goes to Mountain Glenn. I'm doing a chapter of Yang figuring out Ruby is at Mountain Glenn, and touching on more character relationships with the dance, but after that we're going full speed ahead and there'll be no brakes (ha-ha I'm not funny) until the end of V2!**


	26. Tipped

Chapter 19: Tipped

"Where's Yang?" Ilia asked, entering the dorm after a workout.

"Library again." Weiss replied, not pausing in writing a report for Oobleck's class. "I'm glad to see she's taking her classes seriously."

Ilia nodded. "Yeah." She agreed after a beat and heading to the bathroom to shower.

* * *

In the library, Yang was staring at a computer.

"Yang." She jolted upright at the voice of her team leader. Blake was at her shoulder. "Looking again?"

Yang let her shoulders slump. "Yeah... She's been _really_ inactive lately. Torchwick and Neo as well." She admitted. "Its weird." She added.

Blake gave a hum, taking a seat in a chair next to Yang. "Perhaps they moved with the White Fang." The faunus mused. Yang lifted her head up.

"What?" She asked, turning herself around to fully face Blake.

Blake gave her head a tiny shake "Oh god I forgot to tell you guys..." she sighed. "Well when we were all looking for clues about Ruby, Torchwick mentioned something. He gave a speech about how all of the White Fang are moving operations towards the southeast." She told Yang, who's eyes widened.

"The southeast? But what's there?" She asked, pulling up a map of Remnant on her Scroll. Blake looked over her shoulder and her own eyes widened.

"Mountain Glenn." Blake breathed "But... What could they be doing there?" She asked.

"I dunno. Oobleck said its a place full of Grimm from a failed settlement there." Yang shrugged "Could it have to do with all the Dust they've been stealing?" Yang asked.

A horrified look crossed Blake's face. "If they are... than that would mean they plan on releasing those Grimm."

"Into the city." Yang finished, her own horror growing. "Oh _no_." She whispered.

"We need to warn Ozpin." Blake said.

"Blake, he won't do anything." Yang said, standing up.

"And what do _you_ suppose we do?" Blake challenged, putting a hand on Yang's arm. "We can't exactly vanish off to Mountain Glenn to look for her." She told Yang. Yang shrugged the faunus' hand off.

"I don't know. But we can't just do _nothing_!" She exclaimed.

Blake sighed. "Yang, I know how you feel. You want to do what's right — but the risks are too great. Last time you saw Ruby, she almost had Drei kill you!" Blake said, guiding Yang to sit down again. "We're students — we can't stop them on our own." She told Yang.

The brawler nodded, and Blake saw defeat flash in her eyes.

"Why does she hate me, Blake?" Yang asked at last, ashamed how her voice broke.

Blake was silent, the cat faunus had no answers for the blonde.

Finding no response, Yang buried her head in her arms. Blake rested a comforting hand on her teammate's shoulder.

"There you are." A voice rasped. "Hey Yang, you forgot these —" Yang spun around and she caught the two yellow bracelets thrown her way.

"Uncle Qrow!" Yang said. "Thanks." She put Ember Celica on her wrists.

"Now than, would you like to explain what the hell you were thinking?" Qrow asked, walking towards the two girls.

"Uncle Qrow, I..." Yang was at a loss for an explanation. The man before her was angry. "I wanted to see her again, convince her to come home with me."

"Yang. Come with me, we need to talk." Qrow jerked his thumb. Yang stood up, chair scraping softly.

"I'll see you back at the dorm." Yang told Blake. Her team leader nodded and stood up before walking away.

Yang followed her uncle to an empty classroom, Qrow shutting the door behind him. "Lets start from the beginning. Why the hell was Ember Celica at Junior's club?" He asked, sitting on the teacher's desk.

Yang sighed "I met Ruby at Junior's." She rubbed her arm, evading her uncle's gaze. "I wanted to talk, and convince her to come home." She told him.

"You went there and she was there?" Qrow asked.

Yang bit her tongue, debating whether to tell him. "I talked to Junior a few days ago, asking him about her. He said she'd be there. So I went... and she didn't want to come home." She hung her head.

She heard Qrow sigh before the sound of his flash sloshing around the liquid within as he drank from it. "You knew about it, and never told anyone?" Her uncle's voice was hard.

"Yes." Yang said.

Another sigh. "Yang. I swear you'll get yourself killed doing this." He said.

"I just want Ruby home." Yang said.

"We _all_ want her home, firecracker." Qrow responded "But, from what I've heard she doesn't want to come home." He told her.

"Torchwick... he corrupted her. She was so young! Now she only has eyes for him. She called them _family_!" Yang growled, hands clenching into fists.

"I know, Yang." Qrow said. "But she's a mass murderer and criminal. She cant be taken lightly at all." He told her.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Qrow." Yang said.

"Just tell me or your team whenever you do something like that again. You've come so far already, hell — you're making more progress than myself." Qrow said.

"But now she's off the grid." Yang sighed. "If you're watching as well, you know she along with Torchwick and the White Fang's activity these last few days have dropped to nothing."

She looked up to see her uncle's gaze darken. "They may be planning something." He said quietly.

Yang bit her lip, feeling the urge to tell him the conclusion Blake and herself had drawn.

"I don't doubt it." Yang said. "I'd better get going. Dinner is soon."

Qrow nodded and opened his arms. "C'mere, kiddo." He offered a smile. Yang hugged him. "Don't be so reckless, Yang. Please don't chase Ruby — you may not be so lucky next time. Junior told me she was about to kill you." He sighed.

Yang echoed his sigh. "I love you, Uncle Qrow."

"I do too, Yang." He released the hug and Yang stepped away, turning around to head away.

* * *

Roman saw Neo sharpening Hush's blade. The slow sound of the blade against the sharpening stone filled the air surrounding the mute. Drei lay at her feet. As he approached, the canine picked his head up and gave a huff of greeting. Neo set the whetstone aside to give a playful salute his way.

"Ruby's been acclimating well." He noted. "But I still think the outfit is overkill." He added. Neo covered her mouth in a mimed giggle.

The mute put Hush away into its parasol sheath. '_No, its not._' She insisted with an amused smirk.

Roman rolled his eyes. "Well she made a couple of friends at least. Two of the wolf faunus. One of them oversees her cart, the other is deaf. Figures they'd click, as Ruby can talk to her." He smiled. Neo gave a nod, pleased.

Despite it not being their intentions by forcing Ruby to work, they were happy to know she had made friends. Usually being a criminal meant you couldn't have friends. But who the better to be friends with than other people on the same side of the law as you?

'_I'm glad she made friends._' Neo said. Roman nodded. '_Names?_' She asked.

"I think it was Malu and Akari." Roman said.

'_Alright._' Roman could tell Neo was mentally filing those names away. For what purpose, he had no clue. '_How have you been doing?_' She asked.

"Good. I'm keeping an eye on Ruby." Roman said. Neo paused and immediately facepalmed. "What is it?" He asked.

'_Oh fuck me with my own weapon. Blake was at the White Fang rally. She knows about our plans. For all we know, Yang will come looking for Ruby._' Neo informed him. Roman sighed.

"Ugh, those damn kids will _never_ give us a break. Ruby needs to kill Yang and be done with it." He stated. Neo's shoulders slumped ever so slightly.

'_Yang's her sister. She's hesitant to do so._' Neo pointed our.

"I know!" Roman sighed.

'_Ruby will come around. She knows what must be done. When the time comes, she'll finish all of this for us._' Neo promised, a small hand touching the back of one of Roman's hands.

Roman nodded. "I know." He agreed. Drei gave a huff, standing up and stretching. His head nudged Roman's other hand, prompting the man to pat the doberman's head.


	27. Dance

Chapter 20: Dance

Yang noticed Ilia as the days progressed. While the Vytal dance grew closer, the chameleon faunus clearly had something on her mind. Blake and Weiss had noticed, but when Weiss had made a move to talk to their teammate, Blake had told Weiss it wasn't their business if Ilia didn't want to share.

Yang, obviously, thought her leader's words were a bunch of bullshit. So the brawler took it upon herself to confront her teammate.

"Ilia." Yang grabbed the faunus' wrist as they left Port's class. Ilia was obviously a bit tired from almost falling asleep during said class. "We need to talk. Come on." And when Blake shot Yang a glare, Yang matched her team leader's glare in intensity. Weiss gave the tiniest of nods to her, before ushering Blake away as Yang led Ilia outside.

As they walked over to a bench. Ilia's hand slid from Yang's grasp. They sat down and Ilia stared at her lap. "I know what this is about. I'm fine." The faunus stated.

"Bullshit." Yang replied "You can be quiet and a bit shy, sure. But lately you've been staring holes into your hands like you've slaughtered an entire village." She said. Ilia's eyes flashed blue for a moment and Yang sucked in a breath of regret "Oh shit, sorry." She apologized rapidly "I forgot." Of course she forgot Ilia was a former White Fang member. Ilia looked back at Yang.

"Its... fine." The girl's voice was dull.

"No, its not," Yang sighed "I shouldn't have said that."

Ilia gave her head a tiny shake "Just drop it, Yang. What did you drag me away to here for?"

"You're acting off. Somethings on your mind. What is it?" Yang asked. Ilia's hands curled into loose fists.

"Its... nothing that concerns you." She replied, her tone forced. Yang raised an eyebrow.

"Ilia, we're teammates. You can tell me what's up. I'm here to help you." The blonde promised.

"You wouldn't understand, Yang." Ilia muttered, eyes flickering red, then blue, then shifting to grey once more.

"I can at least listen, even if I don't understand. Sometimes its just good to get things off of your chest." Yang told her.

Ilia sighed, glancing around. "Not here, then." She muttered and stood up before walking briskly back into the building and heading to their dorm room.

The room was empty, and Yang shot a text to Weiss saying they were talking there. The heiress responded saying she'd keep Blake away from the dorm while they talked.

"Alright. We're in private and Weiss is gonna keep Blake away from here so its just you and me." Yang pointed her thumb at herself before sitting down on Weiss's bunk while Ilia sat down on the one opposite. "So what's this all about? No guys for the dance?" She asked.

"Its... kinda like that." Ilia said. "Except its not about guys..."

Yang stared blankly for a moment before Ilia sighed and her skin flushed pink. "Ugh. This is stupid." The faunus growled.

"Hey, hey. C'mon Ilia, just tell me. I swear I won't judge." Yang said moments before the realization hit her. "Ohhh." Was all she could say. "Is it a closet thing?" She asked and immediately wanted to leap off the top of Beacon tower.

Ilia's blush grew. "Its just... I have someone in mind. But she always had eyes for someone else, and I never got a chance in the past. I don't even know if she _likes_ girls!" Her head faced the underside of the bunk. "Its so stupid! Why does it matter _now_?" She snapped at the air.

Yang was quiet for a moment, unsure of what to tell her teammate. "You can try." She offered quietly.

Ilia's head snapped to look at her. "No!" She said. "I mean... I don't know. Ugh, I'm so stupid!" She muttered, body turning pink again in embarrassment.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up about it." Yang said. "Just tell her. I'm sure she won't judge you too harshly." She added. Ilia's skin returned to normal.

Ilia sighed. "...Alright." She agreed at last. Yang's face lit up in a smile.

"Atta girl!" Yang cheered, pumping her fist. "And if she says no, I can be your date." She added. Ilia's skin flashed pink again.

"You... mean it?" Ilia asked. Yang nodded.

"You're my teammate, you deserve to be happy." Yang said. Ilia's pinkness seemed to grow more vibrant.

"You don't have to..." Ilia averted her gaze, "It'd probably be embarrassing for you." She murmured.

"Nah, I swing both ways actually." Yang waved her off.

Ilia's lips upturned in the smallest smile and suddenly crossed the room to hug Yang. "I don't really know what to say." The girl said, arms around Yang's neck. Yang hugged her back.

"You're welcome. Anything for my teammate." She smiled.

They broke the hug and Yang pulled out her Scroll and informed Weiss and Blake that they could come back to the dorm.

* * *

"Alright, Yang said we can come back." Weiss said after her Scroll buzzed and she read the text.

Blake lifted her head from her book, closing it. "About time. We should shower." She stated before starting to walk back to the dorm.

"You excited for the dance?" Weiss asked. Blake was quiet for several beats.

"I don't exactly _do_ social events." Blake responded quietly. "Not to mention this sort of slipped up onto me. I've been so busy tracking Red and Torchwick's movements that I didn't realize this was mere days away."

Weiss nodded, "At least you have a better balance than Yang..." She sighed. Blake was quiet.

"Yang's doing similar things. She scours all news stations and news articles for leads." Blake said.

"I know." Weiss agreed softly. "I get that you guys have been busy. But lets take some time off and enjoy ourselves. We won't really get a chance to have this much fun again for a while."

Blake nodded silently before they entered the dorm. Ilia stood up abruptly. "Blake," she began "C-can I talk to you for a second in private?"

Blake was confused for a moment, but quietly agreed and the two faunus left the room.

Weiss turned to Yang. "How'd it go?" She asked quietly, all too aware of Blake's keen hearing.

"Good. Ilia just needed to talk to Blake, but she was a bit anxious. How have you been?" Yang replied

"Good. Blake and you have been so busy lately, you have any idea who you're bringing to the dance." Weiss asked. Yang smiled

"Nah, I'm good." She said, crawling onto her bunk and opening up Grimm Bashers to start playing.

* * *

Finally the night came. "Looking good, Blake." Yang smiled. Ilia was obviously nervous as she walked alongside her partner. The chameleon faunus had told the brawler that Blake agreed to go as a friend, a fact that made both Yang and Ilia overjoyed.

"You as well, Yang." Blake looked her up and down, and Yang's grin grew. "Let's go, Ilia." The team leader said, offering her arm to Ilia, who's eyes lit up and she took it. Yang chuckled after the two as the partners left to dance.

"What's so amusing?" Weiss asked. Yang rolled her eyes at the heiress.

"Blake probably doesn't realize it, but she's making Ilia the happiest girl on Remnant right now." Yang told Weiss after her chuckles faded.

Weiss seemed confused in that moment "How?" She asked. Yang smiled and put a hand on her partner's shoulder, watching Blake guide Ilia through the steps of a waltz.

"They've both been through a lot. Ilia really looks up to Blake." She said.

"Does it have to do with your talk you had with her?" Weiss asked. Yang nodded. "I see." She nodded.

Yang offered her hand to Weiss. "May I take this dance?" She asked, "Completely platonically, of course. You don't have to." She added.

Weiss sighed "I'll dance later with you." She said. Yang nodded.

"Alright." She agreed.

Yang sat at a chair as Weiss walked off to do whatever it was she wanted to do.

As the song ended, Ilia approached her. "You seem lonesome." The faunus noted.

"I'm fine, where's Blake?" Yang replied.

"Went to get punch." Ilia told her. "Wanted to ask if the offer was still open of a dance."

Yang smiled, "Of course, Ilia. But I'm not exactly the most graceful dancer." She gave a small laugh, bringing forward a tiny smile from Ilia.

"Neither am I. Blake didn't complain about me too much." Ilia said, offering her hand which Yang took.

"So uh, how do I do this?" Yang asked, an embarrassed laugh breaking loose. Ilia smiled.

"Its fine, I'll try to remember what Blake did and guide you." Ilia said, placing Yang's hands where they were meant to go.

"Sorry if I step on your feet." Yang apologized as they started moving.

"Its fine, we both suck at this." Ilia smiled.

Uncertainly at first, but eventually they got their rhythm correct and it became easier.

The song ended at last, and Yang whipped around hearing cheers. "Damn," she whistled "Look at Team Juniper!" She said. The team was dancing in sync to the song playing as Ilia and Yang broke apart.

"Impressive." Ilia agreed "We could never pull that off." She added. Yang nodded in silent agreement.

Finished with their dance, Yang found Weiss sitting alone. "You look bored." Yang said, plopping down next to her as Ilia walked off, stating she was going to go find Blake.

"You looked like you were having fun." Weiss said.

Yang smiled. "Yeah. Ilia and I really sucked though." She admitted. "I'm sure you know what you're doing though." She added

"I know how to dance. Father demanded I was educated in that for formal events." Weiss said, glancing at her hands in her lap for a moment.

"I could use a teacher, wanna show me?" Yang asked "Ilia isn't the best at dancing."

Weiss nodded and stood up, leading Yang once again to the dance floor.

* * *

**A/N: A nice and easy chapter. Next chapter we'll be seeing BSIL off to Mountain Glenn. After No Brakes/Breach I'll probably go on a hiatus to plan exactly what I want to do from that point forward with the story, as those two chapter/episodes will shake things up. **


	28. Mission

Chapter 21: Mission

Yang was excited as she threw the dorm room door open. "Guys!" she yelled. Weiss jolted, Ilia lifted her head up, and Blake closed her book "My Uncle Qrow wants to talk to us!" She said.

"Must you be this loud?" Weiss asked.

"Yes, it's important. We have to meet him at the cafeteria — now! He's waiting for you guys." Blake, Weiss, and Ilia stood and followed Yang as she led them to the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was empty, as breakfast had long ago ended. All that waited within was an older man and a small, black and white corgi.

"We're here!" Yang declared, running to hug her uncle.

"I'm glad to see you again." Qrow smiled. The corgi barked and forced Blake to take a step back, grabbing Ilia's shoulders and forcing the other faunus in front of her like a shield.

"I am too. So, why are we here?" Yang replied.

"Yang, I'm aware you and your team are... interested in Red. So if you have any insane plans for your team mission, just let us in on them before you dart off and end up starting a war or something." Qrow said.

Yang glanced at Blake, and gave a small nod. The raven haired girl seemed a bit surprised. "I... didn't think it was wise to tell him." Yang admitted.

"Sir, we have to let you know. We overheard from our intel gathering that Red is moving towards Mountain Glenn, alongside the White Fang." Blake said.

"That's why White Fang activity, alongside Torchwick and Red's has dropped to almost nothing — they're not here." Qrow said. "I'm guessing you four are going to be sneaking off to Mount Glenn, even if we do try to stop you." he sighed and the corgi at his feet barked.

Yang opened her mouth to speak, but her uncle raised a hand. "That's why I convinced Tai that this fella should stay with you, Yang, while he's away from Patch. From what I know, a few months ago Zwei had an encounter with a doberman that matches the description of Red's dog. Maybe he'll catch her or the dog's scent and lead you there."

Blake's eyes narrowed. "Do we really need the dog to be with us?" she asked.

"Yes. If Zwei has anything that can track Drei, he'll lead us to Ruby." Yang said.

"Fine. But I want that thing gone as soon as our mission ends." Blake agreed at last.

"Thanks, Uncle Qrow!" Yang lunged forward to hug the man.

"This time be safe. You'll be with a huntsman, so you'll have backup." Qrow said and laughed "God, you've grown up so much from the little girl you were. I'm proud of you, firecracker."

Yang smiled and Zwei came to her side, giving a bark to Qrow. "Look after em' boy. Find Ruby." Qrow told the dog.

An announcement came from the speaker, calling them to the auditorium.

"Showtime." Yang cracked her knuckles.

Blake nodded "Let's go."

* * *

"Showtime." Sable smiled. Cinder had done her part, and uploaded a specially crafted virus. At the same time, Sable had a friend of hers craft a false mission that would only be available to Beacon students.

Orchid had been happy to help, and the custom mission had been made in a matter of hours. The rabbit faunus had contacted Watts, the man who made the virus Cinder implemented, and they arranged it for the false mission to be part of the virus.

Now Sable watched, on edge. There was no way Yang's team could resist the lure of the mission. She knew they knew of where the White Fang's base was — Sora had come back from a rally saying a cat faunus had attacked Roman and Neo, matching the description of Yang's team leader.

Now here she was, at her desk and staring intently at the status of the program.

'Search and destroy. Such is the irony of it. They go there to destroy Grimm — and White Fang members. But in reality, they're searching for Red so I can destroy her.' Sable thought and let out a small laugh.

Then, her eyes lit up as the status changed.

Mission Type: Search and destroy

Mission Status: In progress

Sable pulled out her Scroll, sending a text message to Cinder.

'Trap has been set. They've taken our bait.'

* * *

"I've already talked to Qrow about this. I have a feeling if I dissuade you from this, you'd end up in the southeast anyway." Ozpin said, regarding the mission that BSIL was looking at. "So instead of you breaking the rules, let's just bend them." he gave a smile and suddenly the mission was approved for their team.

"Qrow talked to you about this?" Yang asked.

Ozpin said nothing. "Rely on one another. But remember: if your Huntsman does not feel satisfied with your skills, he may send you back." He told them before walking off.

"Time to go!" Yang said.

They approached their ship, and a familiar head of green greeted them. "Hello girls! Who's ready to fight for their lives?"

* * *

"Did Oobleck grill you guys too?" Yang wondered aloud.

"Yes, Yang. And I gave him my honest answer." Blake replied tiredly.

The girls talked for some time about their reasons for becoming huntresses, until the conversation finally lulled enough for the girls to slowly fall asleep. Yang, however, remained awake, alongside Weiss.

"Weiss, are you still awake?" Yang whispered.

"Of course I'm awake, dolt. What do you need?" Weiss hissed quietly.

"C-can I talk to you about something?" Yang whispered, gesturing for Weiss to come outside with her.

Weiss sighed, but followed her teammate outside. As the two walked, Weiss noticed that Yang seemed incredibly nervous, until Weiss could take it no more.

"Yang Xiao Long, why are you so nervous?" Weiss demanded. Yang flinched upon hearing her name.

"T-there's something I wanna talk to you about, Weiss." Yang stuttered.

"Out with it, then! I want to go to sleep." Weiss snapped.

"I-I r-really like you, and I want you to go out with me!" Yang exclaimed.

Weiss stood there, staring at Yang like she'd grown a second head.

"Y-you what?" Weiss replied shakily.

When Yang repeated herself, Weiss seemed to sink further into her daze. After a few minutes, Yang gently took Weiss' hand.

"W-will you have me as your girlfriend, Weiss?" Yang asked.

Weiss' hand slipped out of Yang's grasp.

"I don't know, Yang. We haven't known each other long enough. Not to mention my status. My father would be livid to find out I'm dating you." Weiss said, chin tilting downward. Yang's hand reached out, as if to cup her teammate's chin, but she dropped the hand.

"So… no?" Yang asked, trying to keep her dejection from showing.

"I'm sorry, Yang. It's better this way for us." Yang could see a hint of sorrow in the heiress' blue gaze. "In a perfect world, I'd say yes. But this is far from a perfect world." Weiss turned and walked back into the ruined building they set up camp in, Yang trailing behind.

"I understand…" Yang mumbled. "Good night, Weiss."

"Good night, Yang." Weiss replied, crawling back into her sleeping bag.

~~~The next morning~~~

Drei picked his head up. Roman cast a glance at the doberman. Something was putting him on edge.

"Drei?" Roman asked softly. The canine gave a soft grumble. "What's wrong?" Gold stared at green. Roman could see unease on Drei's face. The dog whined and looked around before resting his head once again on his front paws.

"Torchwick, we found some chick walkin' around in the tunnels! It looks like she fell through the streets up top!" someone shouted.

"What do I keep you idiots around for? Capture her and bring her here!" Roman snapped, and the White Fang member hurried off to tell his comrades.

Lighting a cigar, Roman took a drag. For some damn reason he felt Neo's warning a bit back had rang true. It'd better not be Blondie. He thought.

"Let me go!" At the shout, Roman sighed in resignation. It was Yang. Of fucking course it was Yang. Red eyes met green and the criminal sighed.

"For God's sake, Blondie. You just never know when to quit looking for your sister!" He leaned on Melodic Cudgel. A spur of the moment idea hit him. "Because Red ain't here!" Yang's red eyes widened in surprise. "I knew you'd come running after Blake was at the rally, so I told Red to stay hidden. You won't find her." He said.

Yang only growled at him. "Temper, temper." Roman mocked. "You see, this is why she never wanted to be around you." He chided her as if she was a little kid.

"Shut up, I know my sister!" Yang spat at him. Roman laughed.

"Are you sure about that one, Blondie? Last I checked you still have the delusion that Red loves you. Trust me, I've raised her for the last six years, and I can say with absolute certainty that she doesn't love you!" He told Yang.

As Yang opened her mouth to reply to Roman, another person walked out of the shadows. Yang's eyes lit up, believing it was Ruby, but that light died when a boy walked out of the shadows and strode right up to Roman.

"Roman, we got people topside. What do you wanna do, boss man?" the boy asked, his massive gauntlets clicking and hissing as the boy flexed his fingers.

"Take care of them, Apollyon. Kill them if you want." Roman replied dismissively.

"NO!" Yang exclaimed. Apollyon smirked, and moved back into the shadows.

"I'm gonna go get my stuff, then maybe head top-" Apollyon was cut off when a wall blew up in his face, slamming him into the train car behind him.

"Guys?" Yang asked, seeing the smoke clear to reveal the rest of Team Basil plus Oobleck and Zwei.

"Yang!" Blake called. At that moment, Yang engaged Ember Celica and began firing at the White Fang members holding her. "Are you alright?" the faunus asked. Yang nodded.

"Yeah." The brawler said and turned to Torchwick and Apollyon. "What are you planning?" She snarled.

"None of your business, Blondie. I thought you were more concerned with finding Red?" Roman told her. "Apollyon, we need to head off." He told the boy, turning around and taking off at a run to the train.

When Torchwick and Apollyon reached the front of the train, Apollyon passed the intercom to Roman.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, this train is leaving the station! Keep yourselves in the ride at all times, and thank you for riding with us today!" Roman laughed, full-throttling the train's engine.

"Where are we stopping, Roman?" Apollyon asked.

"We aren't. Bust it up." Roman ordered. Apollyon complied, slamming Despot into the controls of the train. "Apollyon. Shit's gonna go down, when it does I need you to take Red, Neo and Drei with you and go as far as you can away from this place. This isn't their fight, and I'm sure Blondie and her team are going to be coming any time now, so help out and assist in handling some of them." He told the boy.

His Scroll buzzed with a message from Neo.

'Kids are here again.'

Roman sighed and texted back

'I know. Deal with em for me.'

'And Ruby?' Roman cursed himself for forgetting that detail.

'I'm sure she'll be eager to finish what she started.' He told her before shooting a text to the aforementioned girl. 'Kid, your fucking sister and her team are here. Go deal with Yang.'

'AGAIN?? Alright. Heading your way.' The younger criminal texted back and Roman stomped his cigar out.

"Here we go again." He sighed to himself.

"I'll take care of the blonde.. Neo can take the Schnee, you take ribbon girl, and Red can take ponytail girl." Apollyon shouted, rushing into one of the other cars.

The moment Apollyon disappeared from sight, Roman sent a message to Ruby.

'Apollyon is gonna take care of Yang. You take care of the chick with the ponytail.'

'Who is that? 'Fang member?' Roman wanted to slap himself. In the chaos of the last few weeks he forgot to mention Apollyon to Ruby.

'No, he's someone just like you. Took him under my wing a few weeks ago and forgot to mention it to you.' He told Ruby.

'Well this "Apollyon" better not kill Yang. I want to do it. I have a promise to keep, after all.' Ruby replied.

Roman internally cheered, happy the girl had decided to take responsibility at last.

Torchwick sighed, and placed his Scroll back into his pocket as Blake entered the car. The man sighed once more, and readied Melodic Cudgel..

"I'll be sure to make this hurt." Torchwick mocked, prompting Blake to rush him.

'Keep them all busy, kids. We need this to work.'

~~~

"Heya, Yang. Long time no see!" Apollyon exclaimed, waving to the brawler.

"You? How do you know me?" Yang asked, eyes flashing red as she engaged Ember Celica.

Apollyon's lips formed a silent 'o' and the boy laughed. "Sorry, you might not know me since I changed my name. I grew a little too, so that might have thrown you off. We sat next to each other in your uncle's class at Signal." Apollyon replied.

Yang blinked, confusion crossing her face. The expression faded to understanding, and then anger. "You? I never took you to be one to join with Torchwick!"

Apollyon shrugged. "It was easier than living on the streets. I'm sure Red would agree with me if she were here."

Yang's jaw clenched at the mention of her sibling. "So he swayed you like he did Ruby. I promise I'll stop him. This isn't the right path, I'm sure Professor Ozpin would be understanding if I told him you were taken by Torchwick."

Apollyon began to laugh. "Wow, you really ARE stupid! Well, now I know that Red got all the brains of your family. Yang, I wasn't taken by anyone. I joined him because there wasn't really another choice in the matter."

"There's always a choice. Ruby was young and didn't know that choice existed. I'm stopping Torchwick and showing my baby sister that there's a better way to live." Yang said "You have the same choice. You can come to Beacon with me." Yang told him.

"Another choice, Yang? No, there was never another choice. It was to join Torchwick, or die in the cold. Would Ozpin have picked me up, dusted me off, and took me under his wing? Would Ozpin have taken the time to treat me like a father treats his son? No. Roman took me with him, and I would rather die than leave him. Red made the choice to stick with Torchwick, and she isn't coming back with you. And I won't come with you either." Apollyon spat, Catastrophe and Despot hissing and clicking as the boy closed his fingers.

Yang sighed and got into a fighting stance. "Alright. I didn't want to do this, but I'll have to." She launched herself forward with an arm pulled back, aiming for Apollyon's head.

And the girl suddenly found herself on the ground, with Despot holding her torso in a vice-grip.

"You remember sparring at Signal, Yang? I wonder if you've gotten any better." Apollyon mocked, tossing the girl like she was a ragdoll. Yang let out a furious yell, and charged at Apollyon, who simply smirked.

"Come at me, firecracker." Apollyon hissed, dropping into his own fighting stance.

Both teens bellowed their battlecries and began to beat each other senseless, with as much strength as their bodies and weapons would allow. Eventually, both teens punched each other so hard that they flew apart, breathing heavily.

"Give up, blondie! You can't beat me!" Apollyon shouted.

Yang shouted something in response, but the ringing in Apollyon's ears was far too loud for him to decipher it. The boy could see the black at the edge of his vision, and he figured it was only a matter of time until both of them were on the floor, out cold.

"Yang, dear, you remember Catastrophe and Despot, don't you? I made them with you in mind!" Apollyon shouted, his voice echoing unnaturally in his ears.

Yang's eyes widened as Catastrophe unfolded and revealed several thousand Lien's worth of armaments, all pointed at her.

"Open wide, bit-" Apollyon yelled, before letting Catastrophe's cannons roar.

Yang ripped up a piece of metal from the floor, and attempted to shield herself with it, with a reasonable amount of success. Every blast from the guns dented the metal sheet a bit more, and each impact left Yang a little more bruised.

"How much ammo does that thing have?!?" Yang wondered aloud. Suddenly, the guns went silent, and an uncomfortably large blade burst through the metal shield behind Yang, missing her shoulder by an inch.

"Out of ammo, are you?" Yang shouted.

"Not quite! But guns this big sometimes jam, as I'm sure you understand. Especially when they fire shaped charges." Apollyon exclaimed.

Yang's head snapped to the metal shield she was leaning on, and the realization dawned on her. Apollyon hadn't been trying to break it. He was covering it in bombs, and was planning on killing Yang with the shrapnel.

"See ya in the afterlife, Blondie!" Apollyon shouted, detonating the charges.

Yang was thrown backward, what little remained of her aura being depleted by being forced to deflect the shrapnel from the charges themselves, alongside her little metal shelter.

Yang's ears rang, and her vision was blurry. Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion and Yang herself felt like she was moving through molasses as she tried to stand up.

When Yang looked over towards the train, Apollyon was crouched beside her, his lips moving like he was trying to talk to her.

The blonde shook her head, and the ringing in her ears subsided. "W-what did you say?" She asked, trying to focus again on Apollyon.

Apollyon patted Yang's cheek, then lifted her up with Despot. "You ever wonder how it feels to be a watermelon that gets smashed on the sidewalk?" Apollyon inquired.

"Heh. You're doing a good enough job of making me feel that way already." Yang said weakly.

"I've been told I have that effect on women. And men. Usually because I thoroughly introduce them to Despot and the sidewalk." Apollyon replied.

"Sidewalk, eh?" Yang grunted.

"This is my first train fight. I'm sure the metal would be just as happy to get to know you, Yang." Apollyon said, hefting Yang above his head.

Right as Apollyon readied himself to slam Yang onto the floor one final time, Ilia came flying out of another train car, Ruby following close behind.

"Apollyon, I assume?" Ruby snapped, Ilia forgotten.

"Yep. I assume you're Red, here to make due on your promise?" Apollyon replied.

"Roman told you about Yang and I's… problem, I'm assuming?" Ruby stared at her sibling, silver eyes cold.

"Ruby, what promise?" Yang asked.

"I promised to Roman and Neo I'd be the one to deal with you. I hesitated the first time. I hesitated the second time. But as they say "third time's the charm"." She said

"Ruby, why are you doing this?" Yang asked.

A glimpse of something flashed in those silver eyes, something that Apollyon knew well. The boy dropped Yang and stepped away from the injured girl.

"All yours, Red." Apollyon muttered, moving away from the sisters.

"R-Ruby, please! You don't need to do this!" Yang groaned, trying to stand up.

"You want to know why I'm doing this?" Ruby asked, voice dangerously soft. "Once upon a time there was a little girl in red, whose mother was a hero. She went on a mission one day, several years ago, and never came back. The little girl in red was young, and didn't understand why her mother was gone. She turned to her father and uncle, but they had buried their pain under an ocean of alcohol. So she turned to her older sister who burned brighter than the sun, but her sister had no time for her. Dejected, this little girl had nobody to give her the affection she craved. So one day she packed her bags and said her goodbyes, and headed off into the world. A man and a woman had stumbled upon her, and the woman convinced the man they should take the little girl in. The man was reluctant, but eventually agreed. The little girl was scared at first, but the man and woman cared for her, and taught her to be strong. The little girl learned there was more to life than being a hero like her mother. She called the man and woman family, because they gave her the love she needed. Her new family taught her an important lesson as she grew up with them: Heros die." Ruby took a step forward. "So Yang. You wanted to be a huntress, to help people. You want to be a hero like Summer." She raised Dark Glory and merged the blades as she grabbed Yang by the chin. "Then play the part and die!"

Yang tried to struggle, but her chin was forced up and Dark Glory's blade slashed her throat, cutting deep. Blood started pouring from the blonde's throat as she fell backwards.

"Yang!" Ilia yelled, having caught her breath and lunged forward. Ruby tsked and ducked under the faunus' strike.

"Apollyon. Leave this one be — she's too weak. Not to mention an eye-witness makes a tale so much better." Ruby smiled. In a burst of rose petals, she vanished.

* * *

Neo smirked as Weiss sent another series of slashes and thrusts her way. The mute easily blocked or evaded each attack, before lunging forward and parrying a slash with Hush.

Too easy. She couldn't help but think. Behind the two, Drei was throwing around a black and white corgi.

Suddenly with a yell, Neo saw a blur of red deflect a thrust. Ruby landed at her side. "I did what I had to." The mute felt a burst of pride at Ruby's words. She nodded and opened Hush to deflect a fireball sent by the heiress.

Ruby used her semblance to go behind the heiress, who turned around and knocked her backwards with a fireball. Neo watched in horror as the girl started falling backwards. Putting her fingers to her mouth, she gave a whistle. Drei saw the danger before running at Weiss with a snarl. Neo ran to Ruby and pulled her up, and they watched in horror as Drei was flung by a black glyph off the train and Weiss' weapon tip glowed blue for a moment before it faded.

"DREI!" Ruby screamed and rose petals swirled around her. But before the criminal could launch herself at the heiress, an impact sent them all flying into blackness.

* * *

A/N: Took a bit longer for this chapter to come out. I was a bit uncertain about how to do this. But then when I asked over a Discord server, someone swooped in to save the day! He'll be editing my chapters from this point forward, and is the owner of Apollyon. I'll let him introduce himself and talk a bit now.

Howdy do! I'm Abraxis, owner of Apollyon. Artemis found me on a Discord server, and I asked her if she wanted help editing, and here we are. Apollyon was an OC I had bouncing around in my head for a little while, but under the name of Limbo. I'll give you a description of Apollyon, and then I will take my leave. Can't be stealing the author's show, after all.

Real Name: Unknown

Alias: Apollyon

Age: 15

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Onyx

Height: 6' 1"

Skin Tone: Fair

Aura Color: Dull Jade Green

Semblance: Nox Equilabrum.

Weapons of Choice: Pair of large gauntlets named Catastrophe and Despot. Catastrophe is covered in ranged, high explosive armaments while Despot is equipped with dozens of sharp things designed to shred flesh, bone, or whatever else the boy needs to punch his way through.

I really hope you guys and gals like Apollyon, and I really hope you guys enjoy Guardian's book! Have a wonderful day/night, and keep yourselves safe!

(Word Count: 4072)


	29. Loss

Chapter 22: Loss, Volume 2 finale

The dull blare of a siren filled Ilia's ears. The faunus had little recollection of what happened. As the ringing in her ears subsided, her memory decided to come back.

Zwei had come back without Yang. They had gone to find Yang, and Zwei stopped at a hole in the ground. Oobleck had ordered them to go down only to find Yang being held by two White Fang members. A man had come from the shadows, and Torchwick made his escape. Blake ordered them to give chase.

Ilia had been stopped by a White Fang grunt, or so she had thought. But when she demanded why they were working with Torchwick, a cruel chuckle slipped through the grunt's lips, and a pair of familiar knives were drawn. Ilia had engaged, and managed to knock the mask off the grunt to confirm her suspicion. It had been Red dressed as a White Fang member all along! She had tried to flee, and ran into Yang fighting the weird guy, but Red followed and the man backed away. And… and…

Ilia shook her head. She was missing something, she knew it. But what?

She opened her eyes, and looked around. "Yang?" She called. Surely her teammate was nearby? Receiving no answer, Ilia rose shakily to her feet and looked around. A lock of yellow hair was buried under a collapsed section of the train car wall. "Yang! Yang, can you hear me?" She yelled, stumbling to it. Then she saw blood. Blood everywhere. Too much blood. "Yang? Yang! Get up!" Ilia cried out. "Please, Yang!" Ilia reached the collapsed section, but knew she could never lift it.

"Move." came a boy's voice. Ilia scrambled to the side as a giant gauntlet floated out of the smoke, and grabbed onto the concrete slab atop Yang's body.

Ilia threw herself over Yang's body, and began screaming for Blake and Weiss. She shook the body, cold as the metal floor of the train. There was blood everywhere. "Yang, please! Get up, get up!" Ilia begged, praying that maybe her teammate was just badly hurt. But pressing her fingers to her teammates throat, which was coated in dried blood, she found no sign of life.

All of her skin turned blue, tears flowing freely onto the brawler's body. She looked again at the throat, and saw the deep slit. Suddenly it came back to her.

"Red got her good, huh?" came the boy's voice once more. Ilia whirled around to see Apollyon sitting behind her, watching Ilia cry over Yang's body.

"You… you!" Was all Ilia could say, eyes turning red as spots of her skin became yellow. "She's dead! Yang's dead! I… I…" Ilia trailed off, seeming unable to speak properly before collapsing onto Yang's body.

"I am well aware that she is dead. In fact, I helped kill her. But that isn't why I'm here." Apollyon replied softly.

"Then why are you here? To kill me?" Ilia's voice shook. "Go ahead! I won't stop you." She saw Lightning Lash was laying a few feet near her, but made no effort to reach for her weapon. "Its not like this'll make a fucking difference." She buried her face into Yang's mane of hair, stained strawberry in her own blood.

"A wise choice. I'd have snapped your arm, otherwise." Apollyon replied. The boy reached over to Ilia, and slowly lifted her off of Yang's body, despite the Faunus girl's protests.

"I came to pay my respects to an honorable warrior. She tried to save Red and I, because she believed we were going down the wrong path. She has my eternal respect." Apollyon spoke softly, sliding a spent shell casing onto Yang's stomach, and clasping the girl's hands over it.

"Yet you helped kill her." Ilia's skin turned blue once more. "She was more honorable than you'll ever be!" The faunus spat.

Apollyon turned his head toward Ilia, and the girl scrambled backward upon seeing the fury in his eyes.

"I helped Red fulfil a promise. Nothing more. If you hadn't come here, Yang wouldn't have needed to die." Apollyon snapped, pointing at Ilia. "Ozpin is at fault here. He sent Yang to her death, and he won't lose any sleep over it. Tai and Qrow will be all messed up, but it's all of your faults. You brought her here. You brought this girl to her death."

Ilia started to shake. "Ozpin isn't at fault!" Ilia shouted. "He couldn't have known Yang would die!"

"And yet, they tell you at every turn that one needs to be prepared for death. You children fight the Grimm, which, as I recall, regularly kill people. Ozpin knew death was a possibility, and a rather high one at that. But please, believe what you like. Ozpin uses you people to fight his war, yet he keeps you blind in the dark." Apollyon spat, standing to leave.

Ilia remained in place, watching the boy leave. As Apollyon left, he heard a scream split the air, shrill and desperate. "Yang!!! No, no, no!!! Yang, please, please don't be dead! Ilia, call someone!!! Please! Yang, please! Please come back. I need you! I love you, and I need you back with me…." Weiss wailed.

Apollyon began to laugh, the sound filling the tunnel and drowning out Weiss' crying.

"I'll fucking kill you!!!!" Weiss shrieked, firing randomly down the tunnel and missing Apollyon completely.

"Think about what you learned today, chameleon girl!" Apollyon called, before totally vanishing down the tunnel.

* * *

Ruby groaned, feeling someone shaking her. "Neo?" She opened her eyes to meet Neo's concerned gaze. "What… happened?" She asked.

'Train crashed. We need to find Drei.' As soon as Neo finished signing, she grabbed Ruby and helped her to her feet.

"Oh no…" Ruby whispered, she stopped and saw the broken remains of what could only be Dark Glory. "No, no no…" she crouched down and held the broken metal. Just looking, the girl knew the weapon was beyond repair. She sighed and collected as many pieces of the shattered weapon as she could. "Lets keep going." She said, and led the way further down the tunnel.

But both froze seeing a giant wall of ice blocking their paths. As they looked up, the ice started to take on a pink tinge before turning red until at the peak was a brown form. "DREI!" She gave a burst of her semblance and grabbed the doberman, before falling down onto the ground and cradling him. "No… Drei…" She saw the gaping hole through the dog's side, and tears ran down her face as she looked into blank golden eyes. Neo was next to her in an instant, crouching down and touching the doberman's face before closing his eyes.

Suddenly, the sound of pounding feet echoed through the tunnel as Apollyon rounded the corner, a wall of fire at his heels. The boy grabbed Drei's body, along with Ruby, and took off down the tunnel with Neo close behind as he bolted out of the tunnel.

Several Huntsmen were posted outside of the giant hole that the train had made, and one managed to spot Apollyon through the smoke and chaos, firing at the boy, who didn't seem to notice as several bullets landed squarely in his back and legs.

Ruby was drained, her fights with Ilia, Weiss and the crash had really drained her. The fall from the ice wall had nearly done in her Aura reserves. "Where… are we going?" She asked Apollyon.

"Safe...house...middle...city…." Apollyon said, his voice strained. Suddenly, the boy collapsed, sending Ruby and Drei's body flying.

'That's not good. Apollyon was meant to be our way of brute forcing through every obstacle, but he spent so much energy protecting himself in the crash that he can't keep going.' Neo signed, a worried look in her eyes.

Ruby tumbled from Apollyon's arms, and reached out for Drei's body weakly. She forced herself to her feet, and swayed dangerously. Neo grabbed the girl and supported her. "We have to… keep going." She grit her teeth and took a step forward.

'Look at yourself. You're a fool if you think you can keep going — your Aura is a feather's touch away from breaking in the middle of a warzone.' Neo was worried as Ruby moved off of her and continued to stumble forward.

"Hey!" A pink haired rabbit faunus was running their way. "Damn, you guys look like shit." She stated.

"Who are you?" Ruby asked. The faunus' brow rose in concern.

"My name's Orchid. I'm a friend of Malu. You all look like the train crash fucked you up pretty bad." She said. "Let's get you all somewhere safe." And pulled up a Scroll. "Malu, I found them!" She said. "He'll be here soon to help your friend over there."

'Thank you.' Neo signed 'They're both worn out from fighting.'

"Looks like it." Orchid commented.

'Why are you here, anyways?' The mute asked.

"Akari and Malu were worried about you. We'll take you guys back to our place so you can recharge and get back to Roman." Orchid said and turned to Ruby as a black haired man with wolf ears came their way. "Malu, carry the big guy. Neo seems fine enough to walk, can you help me get Red on my back so I can carry her?"

Malu nodded and picked up Ruby, who was tired enough that she could only moan in the soreness of her body before putting her on Orchid's back. Neo sighed and carefully picked up Drei's body as Malu picked up Apollyon and carried him before they started walking.

As Ruby lay against the rabbit faunus' back, she mumbled to Neo "I… did it. I killed her." Neo didn't hear it, but Orchid relayed the words to her. Neo's eyes lit up in pride.

'I'm so proud of you, Red.' She signed with a smile. Silver eyes brightened a tad before they dropped shut.

~~A few hours later~~

Ruby awoke with a groan. It felt like a Goliath was stomping on her head. Opening her eyes, she found herself in a pitch black room. But there was a creak as a door opened and closed. Ruby stiffened in the bed she had been tucked into, but the curtains were opened to allow moonlight into the room.

"Neo?" She whispered, seeing the moonlight cast upon the mute.

'I'm glad you're awake.' Neo signed, sitting on Ruby's bed.

"Where… are we?" Ruby asked.

'We're at the Pack house. Orchid carried you here.' Neo responded, and elaborated upon seeing the confusion in Ruby's face. 'The Pack is Orchid, Malu, Sora and Akari. We're in their house, they took us here after Apollyon and yourself collapsed.'

As Neo signed, Ruby's memory came back and silver eyes widened. "Drei…" She whispered. Neo put a hand on her shoulder, as if she could sense Ruby's intent to get up.

'Don't be a fool, Ruby. Rest for now — we can pay our respects later. He'll stay there for us.' Neo signed, a stern look crossing her face before putting her hand back on Ruby's shoulder.

"No… I'm fine." Ruby struggled against Neo's hand. The mute shook her head.

'You're not. You're too weak to get up.' Neo signed.

"Fine." Ruby mumbled and fell back against her pillow. She closed her eyes, yet she could see flashes of a wall of ice stained red. "Neo?" She asked quietly.

'You alright?' Neo asked. Ruby shook her head.

"I… I'm scared to go to sleep. I keep seeing him." Ruby admitted. Neo gave a smile.

'Him? You mean Apollyon? You're scared of him?' The mute teased.

Ruby shook her head. "No, Drei." She said. Neo frowned and her hand smoothed Ruby's hair. "If I close my eyes, I see him…" she murmured.

'I know.' Neo signed, 'Need me to stay with you?' She asked.

"Yes…" Ruby admitted. Neo gave her a small smile, and stood up before walking to the other side of the bed. She laid down next to Ruby and wrapped her arms around her. "Thank you, Neo." She murmured. Neo nodded.

When Ruby closed her eyes again, she fell into a blissfully dreamless sleep.

~~In the morning~~

Ruby awoke to someone softly swearing, and the girl's silver eyes opened to see Apollyon sitting by her bedside. His bare hands were on her arm, and where their skin met, Apollyon's dark jade Aura took on a crimson hue as it slowly merged with Ruby's own Aura.

The girl moved her arm away from Apollyon's hands, and the boy flinched in surprise.

"I didn't know you were awake. Sorry." Apollyon muttered.

"What were you doing?" Ruby wondered aloud.

"I read somewhere that you can give portions of your Aura to someone else if they need some, so I figured I'd give it a try. How do you feel, Red?" the boy asked softly.

Ruby flexed her fingers. "I feel...stronger. What did you do?"

"I gave you some of my Aura. If your Aura is a little green for a while, I apologize." Apollyon replied.

"Your hands are surprisingly soft, Apollyon." Ruby noted.

"It's weird, isn't it? If you looked at what I do, you'd think my hands would be all rough and calloused, but they aren't. It's very strange." the boy replied, placing his hand on the bed, palm-up.

Ruby turned her head away from Apollyon and stared out the window.

"Hey, do you need anything? If you want, I can-" Apollyon began, standing up.

"No thanks. I'm good." came Ruby's terse reply.

"Right. Well then, I'll be taking my leave. I have a funeral to attend, anyway." Apollyon said.

"Who's?" Ruby asked.

The boy held up one of Ruby's calling cards.

"Gonna check in with your sister one last time." the boy said, walking out the door.

~~~

On the island of Patch, the morning sky was grey, as if the sun too was in mourning. An open casket was on display on a cliff, as a group of people gathered around it. Ozpin and the other teachers had already paid their respects before leaving.

The body within had been cleaned of all blood, and her orange scarf was pulled up over her throat to hide the long slash caused by Dark Glory, as its final mark on the world. The people gathered all had tears in their eyes, looking at a face whose lavender eyes, always so full of happiness, would never open again.

"Now what will happen?" Weiss asked softly. "We can't be Team Basil without her…"

"I don't know, Weiss." Blake took the heiress's hand, Ilia's hand already clutched in her other.

Suddenly, a boy in a dark suit moved past them, and locked eyes with Ilia. The boy winked at the girl with a grin on his face, and made his way to the casket.

"I guess you did improve, Yang. Sorry it had to be this way." Apollyon whispered, slipping yet another shell casing into her cold grasp, and tucking Red's calling card on the dead blonde's scarf.

Apollyon patted the side of the casket, and turned to leave.

Qrow's dull red gaze had watched the whole interaction. "Wait a second… Why are you here?" He asked.

Ilia suddenly began to shake, staring at Apollyon. Blake and Weiss took the chameleon faunus' hands as her skin flashed red and blue. "You…" was all she could say, tears starting anew.

Apollyon let out a low chuckle. "Don't make a scene, sweetheart. You have a brainstorm about what I told you after the train crash?"

Weiss glared at Apollyon with a fury the boy didn't know she was capable of.

"I will have your head on a stick, you-" Weiss snarled, before Apollyon put a finger to her lips, shushing her.

"Don't make a scene. All these nice, innocent people around. Think about how many I could kill." Apollyon sneered, brushing past the remnants of Team BSIL.

"Look, I don't know why the hell you're here, but get out!" Tai snapped, stepping forward.

"Awww, is that your new way of greeting old students, Mr. Xiao Long?" Apollyon mocked. "I'm touched."

"I would never have taught someone as sick as you are, kid. Now, beat it." Tai growled.

"But I'm here to learn, Tai! I'm here to observe the results of my actions. Isn't this so much fun?" Apollyon replied, a twisted grin appearing on his face.

Suddenly, Qrow strode up to Apollyon and punched him in the face.

"You think this is funny, you little shit?!?!?" Qrow shouted, lifting the boy by his collar.

Apollyon laughed. "N-no, I think this is hilarious!"

Qrow threw Apollyon towards the docks. "LEAVE!"

Apollyon's mocking laughter echoed all over the island of Patch as the boy disappeared.

"Ilia, what was he talking to you about?" Blake asked softly. Ilia gathered herself up.

"He just told me this is all Ozpin's fault, that if he never let us go here that Yang wouldn't have died." Ilia said.

Qrow looked at the ground, "We all know its bullshit. I'm at fault here. If I never told Oz to let you guys do this, maybe Yang would be alive." He looked to the casket, and saw a familiar black card. "So, the bastard came to gloat in her place." He picked up the card and Tai gasped softly.

"What now?" Ilia asked.

Qrow sighed and put the card in his pocket before taking his flask out. "I don't know, Ilia…" He admitted, before drinking deeply.

~~~

In the backyard of a house, another group was gathered, holding their own funeral. A grave had been dug, and within a white cloth lay the body of a doberman.

They had decided that because it was too risky to move, they would hold the funeral at the Pack house.

Ruby and Neo knelt by the body. "Drei… you were such a good boy. We don't know what to do without you now. I'll avenge you, I swear." Ruby had stopped crying a while ago, instead she stared at the cloth that shrouded the dog.

'We'll see you again someday, boy.' Neo signed. 'We love you, Drei.' The mute gave a watery smile.

Ruby nodded, touching where Drei's head was through the cloth. "I'll avenge you, Drei. I swear it. Weiss Schnee and her family will all suffer and die for putting you through all that pain." She stroked his neck.

Neo nodded in silent agreement, then left to go on patrol.

"Hey, Red." Apollyon muttered, putting his hand on the girl's shoulder.

"What took so long?" Ruby asked.

"An...altercation. Some of my old teachers were there, and I did get into a little fight." the boy replied.

Ruby turned to face Apollyon, who had a bruise on his face.

"Old Man Branwen punched me. It surprised me, I won't lie. But the looks I got when I left them your card...whew, it was amazing." Apollyon said.

"Was it really worth it? To see the faces of people who loathe you so much..?" Ruby asked, her voice breaking as she stared at the cloth covering Drei.

"Something I've gotten over, Red, is seeing the faces of those who I've killed, or helped kill. But I genuinely enjoy seeing the faces of their loved ones as I come over to gloat, or pay my respects. I know they can't or won't stop me, and I will do as I please." Apollyon replied.

"Do you remember everyone you've killed?" Ruby wondered aloud.

Apollyon's hand slipped off of Ruby's shoulder.

"Not their names. But I remember faces and voices. Every wound that person gave me. WHat it felt like to kill them. And I remember what their families and friends would say to me when I showed up at the funeral, or at their home, or wherever. And the things I've been called…" Apollyon trailed off, his onyx eyes staring into the void.

"A-Apollyon?" Ruby sniffled. The boy's head snapped towards her, and he seemed to remember where he was.

"Sorry, Red, just kinda got lost in thought." Apollyon replied softly.

"How do you deal with death?" Ruby asked.

"That depends on who died. I usually laugh it off, and just deal with it. But I think if Torchwick died...I don't know what I'd do. Maybe just shut down until I could properly process it. Then move on with that burden, I suppose." Apollyon said.

"S-so, just a-accept Drei's death and….move on?" Ruby whimpered.

"No, that's not what I'm saying. It's different for everyone. I just choose to power through everything, because that's how I've lived my life since...well, since I chose to try to become a Huntsman. Clearly, that didn't work out." Apollyon said.

"I've killed so many people. Roman and Neo taught me to. But seeing Drei… I know now how those families feel. To know someone they love isn't coming home…" she looked down. "I feel like I'm doubting myself. I know how Evergreen feels now, wanting vengeance and bringing a killer of someone you loved to justice." She sighed down on the sheet. "Did Roman ever talk about him to you?" She asked quietly.

"I actually met Drei once or twice, but didn't really interact with him too much. I'm more of a cat person." Apollyon replied. "As far as dogs go, Drei seemed like a really good one."

Ruby nodded "He was like a human trapped in a dog's body. His semblance allowed him to understand things like we did. He wasn't a pet or a working animal. He was a person, like you and me." She said, silver eyes glistening in tears once more.

Apollyon pulled the girl into a gentle hug as she started to sob. While Ruby cried, the boy looked around to see if someone could take care of her while he slipped away to avoid the crying girl, but everyone had gone to do other things.

"We're gonna go inside, alright? You'll get sick if you stay out here." Apollyon murmured. Ruby continued to cry as the boy gently lifted her up and carried her inside, and laid her in bed.

When Apollyon turned to leave, Neo was standing in the doorway with a satisfied smirk on her face.

'Is this a show of affection from you, Apollyon?' Neo signed. Apollyon rolled his eyes.

"I'm not good with girls, especially not of the crying variety. Can I go do something else?" the boy pleaded.

'Nope. Take care of her.' Neo signed, her smirk growing. The young woman shut the door, leaving Apollyon with a crying Ruby and no idea what to do.

Ruby wiped at her face. "Why are you here?" She asked. "I thought you said you weren't good with crying girls."

"I'm not. Maybe Neo really is deaf." Apollyon deadpanned.

"Deaf? She can hear better than all of us!" Ruby gave a tiny smile. "One of the perks of being mute, I guess."

"Selective hearing, then. Because I very clearly said I'm not good with girls, crying or not. So either Neo is trying really hard to make you feel better, or...something else." Apollyon replied, looking away from Ruby.

"Nah, she loves screwing with people. She's probably doing it to mess with you." Ruby waved a hand.

"I hope so. I'd rather Roman didn't castrate me." Apollyon laughed.

"Why would Roman do that?" Ruby asked, wiping her face. She had stopped crying, instead there was a glimmer of amusement in her silver eyes.

"Because...ummm...new subject!" Apollyon said a little too loudly, a blush creeping onto his face.

"Fine, you killjoy." Ruby rolled her eyes. "What should we talk about?" She asked.

"Let's talk about you, or ask each other stuff to get to know one another better. Or something. Teens do that normally, right?" Apollyon asked.

Ruby laughed "I've had a far from normal teenhood. So I wouldn't really know." She smiled awkwardly. "I'm… not the best at talking anyways."

Apollyon chuckled. "Trust me, Red. I've never been very good at it either. Hence the alias, serious trust issues, etcetera."

"Ruby. My name is Ruby, Apollyon." Ruby told him.

There was a sharp knock on the door before it swung wide open to reveal Neo. 'Red. Outside. Now.' She signed.

"Ohhh shit." Ruby hissed to him. "Neo, what did I do?" She asked, getting up and following the mute. Neo all but slammed the door shut and led the girl to her own room.

'It's more of what you DIDN'T do. You're terrible at making friends. Allow me to give you some tips…' Neo signed.

Ruby watched Neo explain conversations and how to make friends to her. "I… think I get it?" Ruby said. Neo leapt up from her spot on the bed with an ear to ear grin.

'Go forth my apprentice. Be confident!' Neo told her and shoved her to the door.

"Hey sexy beast, did it hurt when you fell from heaven?" Ruby blurted out as soon as the door was slammed shut. "Damn, I wonder if I'm part faunus — I think your scent is making me go into heat!"

Apollyon just stared blankly at the silver-eyed girl, blushing and trying his hardest to keep his expression under control.

"I-is that what Neo pulled you aside for?" Apollyon asked, his voice strained.

"She told me to be confident in my friend making, stud muffin." Throughout the whole exchange, her eyes were locked onto his, as if frozen there. "So how big are you anyway?" She asked, as if it was normal to inquire about such a thing.

"I'm actually speechless." Apollyon replied. "But this is just about the weirdest conversation I've ever had."

"How is it weird?" Ruby asked, canting her head.

Apollyon began to laugh until his face turned red and he fell off of Ruby's bed.

"R-Ruby, what did Neo say you were doing?" Apollyon laughed. "Because that is NOT how you make friends, Ruby. Here, come here and I'll explain."

Apollyon beckoned Ruby closer, and began whispering in her ear, causing Ruby's face to grow redder and redder with each word. Finally, when Apollyon finished explaining what Ruby was REALLY saying, Ruby stood up and screamed.

"NEOPOLITAN!!!!!!!" Ruby screeched, racing out of the room in a burst of rose petals as Apollyon laughed harder than he ever had before.

* * *

A/N: Aaand that's a wrap on Volume 2! What did you guys think? Good, bad? I'll be posting two omakes before the beginning of Volume 3. The first one is co-written by our lovely editor and the second is a tribute to Drei.

(Editor Note) Hello, dear readers! So let me start this with my name. I'm Abraxis. Again, I was found in a Discord server. Anyway, I hope you guys like that last segment of the chapter, with Neo using Ruby to harass Apollyon. I thought it'd be really funny to write, and this is about as close as we can get to writing a certain Blake-approved genre of literature. Also I really enjoy working with Artemis, so please keep reading her stuff because otherwise I have nothing to do with myself.

Also, it has come to my attention that Apollyon has not been well received, mostly due to his sudden popping into existence with nobody saying a damn thing beforehand. Part of this is due to the fact that Apollyon is my OC, not Artemis', and since I showed up REALLY late as editor, Apollyon showed up late as well.

Something else that people dislike is the vibe that Apollyon and his name give off. I'm working out all the kinks and stuff, and Apollyon will not be overpowered AF. I know Apollyon gives off the 'young, talented, powerful' OC nonsense, and that was never my intention.

The goal of Apollyon was to be, in effect, Roman's battering ram. Roman, Neo, and Ruby all have a degree of finesse to everything they do, and I wanted to make a character that was designed for when sh*t hit the fan. Apollyon was meant to be the brute force that Ruby, Roman, and Neo couldn't quite manage.

Now we come to the matter of Apollyon's name. I chose the name because I like the meaning behind it, and I created Apollyon's character around his name. Apollyon comes from Greek, and means 'The Destroyer.' I know, haha edgy name go brrr or whatever, but Apollyon is my newest OC. I still have a bit of stuff to work out, including knowing for sure what his semblance will do. Apollyon's entire character was supposed to reflect the meaning of his name, which is how Catastrophe and Despot came around.

Artemis and I talked, and she noted that Neo and Ruby are largely close range fighters, with Roman being mid range. I wanted Apollyon to be kinda mid range, and that's how Catastrophe was made. Despot was supposed to be the bladed version.

So, basically, Apollyon just sort of showed up when I did, which is why he and I both just sort of appeared without anyone saying anything. I'd really appreciate it if you guys would tell me how I could improve Apollyon, as opposed to just telling us to write him out or kill him. I really enjoy working with Artemis, and I am really grateful she let me up Apollyon into the story.

We still have some kinks to work out with Apollyon and how he jus t sort of showed up, but please rest assured that I am working on evening him out.

Something else I should note is that Apollyon himself is not built like Yatsuhashi. He's not big and buff, he's just tall. He's not like a stick boy, but he himself couldn't do most of the things he does without Catastrophe and Despot.

If you guys have any ideas about how I can continue to improve Apollyon, you can reach me at Tennoofcheese666 on or Wattpad. I apologize for the poor writing of Apollyon on my part.

(Word Count: 5031)

—— Excerpts from writers conversation ——

"Sounds food" - Guardian Artemis, 2020


	30. REWRITE

**IMPORTANT! Please read. REWRITING STORY**

**Heya. I realize you all really hate the direction that the story has started going, and I'm honestly with you. There were several things I'm not happy with in the beginning of OMTIAT, and I see that this is the perfect time to start fresh. So instead of ignoring your anger and carrying on, I'm doing what would have been saved for V3's end (and the planned end of the story) and rewriting it.**

** It'll still be OMTIAT, I swear. Its just a few changes will be happening for plot and designs. I realize there's so much that's bad about the story, and I'm going to do the story right this time. No killing off beloved characters, no mysterious plot details never brought up again, no characters coming from nowhere, no ships with Ruby. I will say Apollyon will be staying BUT we talked it over with a friend of mine over Discord and we're implementing him PROPERLY this time. We've reworked his character and hopefully you'll approve of him. **

**Currently we're still discussing how to go from here and what else will be changed, but you can count on a few things.**

**1) Ruby will stay as a bad guy. No redemptions because those ruin these types of stories.**

**2) Drei will (obviously) be staying as a part of the story.**

**3) Ruby, Roman, and Neo will stay as a family, with the addition of Apollyon.**

**4) We WILL listen to your voices. If a bunch of you hate what we do to a chapter, SPEAK OUT! We'll gladly rework the chapter if its not to your satisfaction and the changes made will not majorly impact the storyline. **

**Thank you all so much for speaking out. I won't be offended by your reviews. They opened my eyes that you guys weren't happy with the story and it was time to push the rewrite. You're all amazing, and are what drive me to write! **

**What will happen from here**

**This note will stay up, and when the first chapter of the rewrite is posted, I will be removing all previous chapters. If some of you don't want to read anymore in fear that we can't change our ways to your liking, its fine and we all hope you enjoyed the story. **

**Thank you guys so much! We love you!**

**— Guardian**

**(I'm putting this up while the others are sleeping. Sorry that there's no notes from em.)**


	31. Omake3

Omake: Roman reads Ruby's books

When Ruby woke up that morning, she didn't think she'd need to explain her reading material to Neo and Roman. Yes, some of it was rather….explicit...but that didn't mean she needed to explain herself to Roman and Neo. They shouldn't have been reading it anyway!

"Red, please explain to me why you're reading...this…" Roman muttered, trailing off as he read more.

"Roman!" The criminal squeaked, a burst of petals fluttering to the ground as she dashed at the man in an attempt to get her copy of Ninjas of Love "Stop - Don't read! Bad!" She frantically grabbed at the book as Roman held it over his head, continuing to read as his concern grew.

"Neo, help me get-" Ruby demanded, looking around for the mute girl.

Ruby spotted Neo in the corner with another one of her books, blushing heavily.

'I need to be excused for a minute.' Neo signed shakily, hurrying into the bathroom and slamming the door shut.

"Damnit, Neo!! Help me, Drei!!" Ruby pleaded, casting a frantic glance at the doberman, who watched the whole thing with obvious and great amusement.

Instead of listening to Ruby's pleas for help, the dog just flashed his trademark doggy grin and laid down as he watched Ruby continually jump in the air with hopes of snatching the book from Roman's grasp.

"Roman, I swear to God, I'll hurt you!" Ruby spat, trying her hardest to retrieve her book from the orange-haired man before her.

Roman held the book aloft as he read it, while also attempting to keep Ruby at bay with Melodic Cudgel.

"Ruby, I'd like to see you try." Roman said idly, turning a page. The man then abruptly folded forward, and yelled in pain. "FUCK!" He yelled, the book lowering just enough for Ruby to snatch.

Ruby then hurried away, clutching her book to her chest as Roman laid on his side, curled in the fetal position. "You hit like your sister!" He whimpered after her.

"That's a compliment!" Ruby called back to him.

In a club on the shady side of Vale, Junior was pouring a glass of vodka for a tenant. Suddenly, the head of every man in the club snapped in the direction of the docks, and Junior let out a little whimper.

"I feel a great disturbance in the force." Junior muttered to himself, instinctively shielding his family jewels.

At the same time, Yang let out a massive sneeze, strong enough to send all of Weiss' delicately stacked papers fluttering about the room. "Was someone talking about me?" She muttered. Unfortunately, the aforementioned heiress decided that it was the perfect time to come into the dorm.

"Yang? What on Remnant are you doing?! What happened to my Grimm Studies report?" She shrieked.

"Definitlynotplagerizingit!" Yang exclaimed, already scrambling to grab the fallen papers.

"Oh my God. You're hopeless." Weiss facepalmed.

It was also at this time that a girlish shriek rang out through the dorms, followed by Pyrrha profusely apologizing.

Back in the bar, Junior began to cry, holding his hands over his family jewels.

~~~about an hour later~~~

"Neo! I have to take a shit!" Roman whined, hammering on the door.

The bathroom door abruptly swung open, and a VERY heavily blushing Neo hurried out of the bathroom, wiping her fingers on her pants.

"Neo, why are you walking funny?" Roman demanded.

Neo froze, and began signing an excuse with shaky hands. Upon seeing a clear fluid on Neo's hands, however, Roman simply nodded as the reason dawned on him. The man silently moved into the bathroom, and the conversation was over.

Until Roman found the book sitting in the bathroom, where Neo had left it.

Open.

To a very, VERY explicit page.

"Sticks and stones may break her bones, but chains and whips excite her, I guess." Roman muttered, slamming the book shut.

"YOU LEFT IT WHERE?!?!?" Ruby shrieked, banging on the bathroom door.

"This is gonna be a really long day, isn't it?" Roman sighed.

-End of chapter-

* * *

A/N: This was co-written by the lovely Abraxis, who will not be returning to OMTIAT. As many of you demanded, Apollyon will not have a role in or appear in the rewrite.

Speaking of the rewrite...

Its almost here! I'm so sorry for such a delay, it feels like its been ages since I posted something. Writing and editing (by a new editor who I've known far longer than Abraxis) are complete. All that's left is to copy and paste from the document into the document and re-do all the formatting for it! Expect it to be posted tomorrow! In addition, there's a final Omake written from before all this went down that will be posted. It will have a note directing you all to the rewrite. THE NEXT UPDATE TO THIS STORY WILL BE THE LAST ONE! AFTER THAT POINT, THE REWRITE WILL BE MY MAIN FOCUS!

Thank you all SO MUCH for the support! I'll see you lovely people later!

And remember, kids: Sticks and stones may break Blake's bones, but chains and whips excite her. Take notes, Yang.

"I'm sorry!" — Literally the only thing Pyrrha Nikos has ever said in the history of ever.


	32. Omake 4 REWRITE POSTED ANNOUNCEMENT!

**A/N This is a heartbreaking one. This is what happened to Drei after the train fight. I put it as an omake because I normally never write from his perspective. **

**Another note: The remake is out at the time this was posted. **

**Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoy the first chapter of the remake!**

* * *

Omake 3: As I Lay Dying

He flew through the air, and saw Weiss' rapier rise, a blue glow at its tip. Drei yelped in agony, feeling something spread through his body.

In that moment, he saw a vision in his eyes...

-_-_-_-

He wandered the streets, stomach empty and nothing to eat. There was the sound of a human whistling, and he looked at the street. A woman with a bag of food was walking, and he approached it.

Green eyes locked onto him, and he shrunk down in submission, letting loose a whimper. Some humans would yell and throw things at him, and every attempt for food was a risk. But he was desperate to try.

The woman frowned, opening her bag and taking out a piece of food before breaking some of it off and placing it on the ground for him.

He scampered forward, barely able to contain his excitement. Snapping up the food, it was gone. But the woman had already placed a second offering at his paws.

As he ate, she offered more until the item of food was completely gone. To his shock, she produced a second one from the bag. He was overjoyed, eating until he couldn't any more. A full belly made him sleepy, and as he laid down, a warm hand carefully touched his head. He moved into the touch with a grunt and his eyes drooped close. The hand moved from between his ears all the way down to his tail tip. Soon he was asleep, feeling himself getting lifted from the street...

~~

He blinked sleepily, seeing a pair of silver eyes meet his. He needed to pee, so he squatted down and let loose.

The silver-eyed girl yelled, and he shrunk down. Suddenly a hand reached and gave his head a pat, her yelling turning to soft words.

-_-_-_-

Drei blinked, it was hard to breathe and he felt weak for the first time. His eyes looked down to see ice was below him, stained crimson. He realized what had happened, and whimpered.

All the good memories filled his head.

But Ruby would be safe. Neo would be safe. Roman would be safe... they had to be, or else he had failed them.

Had he failed them? Drei knew his life was draining, but before he closed his eyes he asked one thing to whatever forces compelled life. _Was I bad?_ As he released a final sigh, Drei imagined Ruby, his mistress, and could almost hear her voice.

"_You're a good boy, Drei. I love you_." Silver eyes full of love filled his vision, before he saw nothing.


End file.
